/e>°i3n 

V.3 


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THE 

GODS    OF   THE    EGYPTIANS 


LONDON 

printed  by  gilbert  and  rivington,  ltd. 
st.  John's  house,  clerkenwell,  e.c. 


AMEN-RA,  the  King  of  the  Gods,  the  Lord  of  Heaven. 


THE 

GODS  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS 

OR 

STUDIES    IN 
EGYPTIAN    MYTHOLOGY 


BY 

E.    A.    WALLIS    BUDGE,    m.a.,  Litt.d.,  d.Litt.,  d.Lit. 

KEEPER    OF    THE    EGYPTIAN    AND    ASSYRIAN    ANTIQUITIES 
IN    THE    BRITISH    MUSEUM 


WITH   98   COLOURED   PLATES 
AND    131    ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   THE    TEXT 


VOLUME     II. 


CHICAGO 
THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

LONDON:   METHUEN  &  CO. 
1904 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.     Amen,  and  Amen-Ra,  and  the  Triad  of  Thebes     ...  1 

II.     Hapi,  the  God  of  the  Nile 42 

III.     The  Triad  of  Elephantine 49 

IV.     Aten,  the  God  and  Disk  of  the  Sun 68 

V.     The  Great  Company  of  the  Gods  of  Heliopolis  ...  85 

VI.    Osiris 113 

VII.     Hymns  to  Osiris 148 

VIII.     Hymns  to  Osiris  from  the  "Book  of  the  Dead"         .         .  153 

IX.     Hymn  to     Osiris, — Hieroglyphic    text     with    interlinear 

transliteration  and  translation 162 

X.     The  Names  of  Osiris 176 

XI.     Plutarch's  Mythological  History  of  Isis  and  Osiris          .  186 

XII.     Asar-Hapi  or  Serapis .  195 

XIII.  Isis 202 

XIV.  The  Sorrows  of  Isis 222 

XV.     Set  and  Nephthys 241 

XVI.     Anpu  or  Anubis 261 

XVII.     Cippi  of  Horus                                    .                          ...  267 

XVIII.     Foreign  Gods 275 

XIX.     Miscellaneous  Gods  : — 

1.  Gods  of  the  Cubit 291 

2.  Gods  of  the  Days  of  the  Months       ....  292 

3.  Gods  of  the  Months 292 

4.  Gods  of  the  Epagomenal  Days 293 

5.  Gods  of  the  Hours  of  the  Day 294 


PAGE 


vi  CONTENTS 

Miscellaneous  Gods  (continued) : — 

CHAP. 

6.  Gods  of  the  Hours  of  the  Night       ....  294 

7.  Gods  who  watch  behind  Osiris-Serapis      .         .         .  295 

8.  Gods  of  the  Winds  .    ' 295 

9.  Gods  of  the  Senses 296 

10.  The  Soul-God 299 

11.  Gods  and  Goddesses  of  the   Twelve  Hours  of  the 

Night 300 

12.  Gods  and   Goddesses  of  the  Twelve  Hours  of   the 

Day 302 

13.  Gods  of  the  Planets 302 

14.  The  Dekans  and  their  Gods         .....  304 

15.  Star-Gods  behind  Sothis  and  Orion    ....  310 

16.  Star-Gods  of  the  Southern  and  Northern  Heavens  312 

17.  The  Zodiac 312 

18.  Gods  in  the  Tomb  of  Seti  1 317 

19.  Gods  of  the  Days  of  the  Month        ....  320 

20.  Gods   in   the    Theban   Eecension   of    the  "  Book  of 

Dead  " 323 

XX.  Sacred  Animals  and  Birds,  etc 345 

Index .  385 


LIST    OF    COLOURED    PLATES 


1.  Amen-Ka,  king  of  the  gods 

2.  The  goddess  Apit 

3.  The  god  Amsu,  or  Min       .... 

4.  Menthu,  lord  of  Thebes      .... 

5.  The  goddess  Mut        .         .  .         . 

6.  Ta-urt  (Thoueris) 

7.  Khensu  in  Thebes,  Nefer-hetep  . 

8.  The  dual  god  Khensu  standing  upon  crocodiles 

9.  Nefer-hetep         ...... 

10.  The  Nile-god  Hapi 

11.  Khnemu  fashioning  a  man  upon  a  potter's  table 

12.  The  goddess  Sati 

13.  The  goddess  Anqet     ..... 

14.  Heru-shefit,  lord  of  Suten-henen 

15.  The  goddess  Anit 

16.  Ba-neb-Tatau,  the  Eam-god  of  Mendes 

17.  The  god  Shu      .  .... 

18.  The  goddess  Tefnut    .... 

19.  Seb,  the  Erpa  of  the  gods  . 

20.  The  god  Shu  raising  up  Nut  from  Seb,  and  the  Boats 

sailing  over  the  body  of  Nut 

21.  The  Lion-gods  of  Yesterday  and  To-day 

22.  Nut,  the  mother  of  the  gods 

23.  Nut  holding  a  table  on  which  stands  Harpocrates 

24.  Nut  pouring  out  water  from  the  sycamore  tree 

25.  Osiris-Unnefer  ..... 

26.  The  Sekhet-hetepu,  or  Elysian  Fields 

27.  Osiris  and  Isis  in  a  shrine  . 

28.  Anubis  ministering  to  Osiris  on  his  bier 

29.  Ptah-Seker-Ausar       .... 

30.  Seti  I.  addressing  Osiris  Khent-Amenti 

31.  The  goddess  Meskhenet 

32.  The  Judgment  Scene  (five-fold  plate) 

33.  The  goddess  Isis         .... 

34.  Isis  and  Ptah-Seker-Ausar 


TO    FACE    PAGE 

Frontispiece 
2 


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of  the 


Sun 


96 
98 
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136 
138 
142 
144 
202 
206 


Vlll 


COLOURED    PLATES 


35.  Isis  in  the  Papyrus  Swamps  suckling  Horus 

36.  Mersekert  suckling  Horus  .... 

37.  Isis-Sept 

38.  The  goddess  Kennut 

39.  The  goddess  Menqet  . 

40.  The  dual-god  Horus- Set     .         .- 

41.  Set  and  Horus  pouring  out  "  Life  "  over  Seti  I 

42.  The  goddess  Nephthys        .... 

43.  Anubis,  god  of  the  dead 

44.  The  deceased  making  offerings  to  Anubis    . 

45.  The  god  Bes 

46.  Sebek-Ea ' 

47.  The  god  An-Heru 

48.  The  goddess  Urt-Hekau      .... 

49.  The  goddess  Serqet 


TO    FACE  PAGE 

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.  220 

.  242 

.  248 

.  254 

.  262 

.  264 

.  286 

.  354 

.  357 

.  362. 

.  377 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


9, 
10 
11 
12 
13, 
14 
15 
32 
33, 
34, 
35, 
36. 
37- 
41. 
42. 
43. 
44. 
45. 
46. 
47. 
48. 
49. 
50. 
51- 
88. 
89. 
90. 
91. 
92. 
93. 


Khu-en-Aten  and  his 


sky-goddess  Nut 


Horus  and  Hekau  presenting  Amen-hetep  III.  to  Amen-Ea 

Amen-Ea,  with  his  attributes     .  ..... 

Heru-sa-atef  making  offerings  to  Amen-Ea  and  his  ram 

Menthu  giving  life  to  Ptolemy  Alexander   . 

Apet 

The  Beams  of  Aten  illumining  the  names  of 
family       ...... 

Amen-hetep  IV.  and  his  wife  adoring  Aten 

Amen-hetep  IV.  seated  on  his  throne  beneath  the  Disk 

Amen-hetep  IV.  and  his  wife  and  daughter 

Seb  and  Nut 

Shu  supporting  the  boat  of  the  Sun  beneath  the 

Nut  giving  birth  to  the  Sun 

Nut 

Seb  and  Nut 
-31.     The  Eesurrection  of  Osiris 

Osiris  on  his  funeral  bed    . 

Sepulchral  stele ;  the  deceased  adoring  Osiris,  Serapis,  &c 

Serapis       ..... 

Eennut,  lady  of  Aat    . 

The  Seven  Stars  of  the  Great  Bear 
-40.     Gods  from  the  Metternich  Stele 

Qetesh,  Min,  and  Anthat    . 

Anthat         .... 

Ashtoreth  .... 

Qetesh 

Eeshpu       .... 

Bes  playing  a  harp     . 

Head  of  Bes 

Gods  of  the  "Winds 

The  gods  of  the  Senses 

The  gods  of  the  Planets 
87.     The  Dekans  . 

The  Boat  of  Osiris,  the  oldest  company  of  the  g 

The  Star-gods  near  the  North  Pole 

The  Signs  of  the  Zodiac 

Portraits  of  seventy-four  gods  from  the  tomb  of  Seti  I. 

The  gods  of  the  fourteen  days  of  the  waxing  moon 

The  gods  of  the  fourteen  days  of  the  waning  moon 


4 

7 

17 

24 

29 


ods,  &c. 


.  70 

.  73 

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132-138 

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.  249 

268-273 

.  276 

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295,  296 

.  297 

.  303 

304-308 

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.  315 

318,  319 

.  321 

.  321 


THE 

GODS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS 


CHAPTER     I 


AMEN  AND  AMEN-RA,   (T — '«J,   KING    OF   THE 
GODS,    AND    THE    TRIAD    OF    THEBES 

AMONG   the    gods   who  were  known  to  the    Egyptians    in 
very  early  times  were  Amen    and   his   consort   Ament, 
[I  o  (I  /wwvv5  and  their  names  are  found   in  the  Pyramid 

Texts,  e.g.,  Unas,  line  558,  where  they  are  mentioned  immediately 
after  the  pair  of  gods  Nau  and  Nen,  ™~*  M  v\   8  11    ®  , 

and  in  connexion  with  the  twin  Lion-gods  Shu  and  Tefnut,  who 
are  described  as  the  two  gods  who  made  their  own  bodies,1  and 
with  the  goddess  Temt,  the  female  counterpart  of  Tern.  It  is 
evident  that  even  in  the  remote  period  of  the  Vth  Dynasty  Amen 
and  Ament  were  numbered  among  the  primeval  gods,  if  not  as 
gods  in  chief  certainly  as  subsidiary  forms  of  some  of  them,  and 
from  the  fact  that  they  are  mentioned  immediately  after  the 
deities  of  primeval  matter,  Nau  and  Nen,  who  we  may  consider 
to  be  the  equivalents  of  the  watery  abyss  from  which  all  things 
sprang,  and  immediately  before  Temt  and  Shu  and  Tefnut,  it 
would    seem  that   the  writers   or   editors  of  the  Pyramid   Texts 


II B 


2  FORMS   OF   AMEN 

assigned  great  antiquity  to  their  existence.  Of  the  attributes 
ascribed  to  Amen  in  the  Ancient  Empire  nothing  is  known,  but, 
if  we  accept  the  meaning  "hidden"  which  is  usually  given  to  his 
name,  we  must  conclude  that  he  was  the  personification  of  the 
hidden  and  unknown  creative  power  which  was  associated  with 
the  primeval  abyss  gods  in  the  creation  of  the  world  and  all  that 
is  in  it.     The  word  or  root  amen  (I  :  ,  certainly  means  "what 

7    AftAAAA       Li 

is  hidden,"  "  what  is  not  seen,"  "  what  cannot  be  seen,"  and  the 
like,  and  this  fact  is  proved  by  scores  of  examples  which  may  be 
collected  from  texts  of  all  periods.  In  hymns  to  Amen  Ave  often 
read  that  he  is  "  hidden  to  his  children,"  and  "  hidden  to  gods  and 
men,"  and  it  has  been  stated  that  these  expressions  only  refer  to 
the  "hiding,"  i.e.,  "setting"  of  the  sun  each  evening,  and  that 
they  are  only  to  be  understood  in  a  physical  sense,  and  to  mean 
nothing  more  than  the  disappearance  of  the  god  Amen  from  the 
sight  of  men  at  the  close  of  day.  Now,  not  only  is  the  god  himself 
said  to  be  "  hidden,"  but  his  name  also  is  "  hidden,"  and  his  form, 
or  similitude,  is  said  to  be  "unknown;"  these  statements  show  that 
"  hidden"  when  applied  to  Amen,  the  great  god,  has  reference  to 
something  more  than  the  "  sun  which  has  disappeared  below  the 
horizon,"  and  that  it  indicates  the  god  who  cannot  be  seen  with 
mortal  eyes,  and  who  is  invisible,  as  well  as  inscrutable,  to  gods  as 
well  as  men.  In  the  times  approaching  the  Ptolemaic  period  the 
name  Amen  appears  to  have  been  connected  with  the  root  men 
"  to  abide,  to  be  permanent ; ' '  and  one  of  the  attributes 


which  were  applied  to  him  was  that  of  eternal. 

Amen  is  represented  in  five  forms  : — 1.  As  a  man,  when  he 
is  seen  seated  on  a  throne,  and  holding  in  one  hand  the  sceptre, 
j ,  and  in  the  other  the  symbol  of  "  life  ;  "  in  this  form  he  is  one 
of  the  nine  deities  who  compose  the  company  of  the  gods  of  Amen- 
Ra,  the  other  eight  being  Ament,  Nu,  Nut,  Hehui,  Hehet,  Kekui, 
Keket,  and  Hathor.1  2.  As  a  man  with  the  head  of  a  frog,  whilst 
his  female  counterpart  Ament  has  the  head  of  a  uraeus.  3.  As  a 
man  with  the  head  of  a  uraeus,  whilst  his  female  counterpart  has  the 
head  of  a  cat.     4.  As  an  ape.     5.  As  a  lion  couchant  upon  a  pedestal, 

1  See  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  12. 


The    Goddess    APIT 


later 
article  T,  t 


AMEN   OF   THEBES  3 

Of  the  early  history  of  the  worship  of  Amen  we  know  nothing,  but 
as  far  as  the  evidence  before  us  goes  it  appears  not  to  have  been 
very  general,  and  in  fact,  the  only  centre  of  it  of  any  importance 
was  the  city  of  Thebes.  Under  the  Xllth  Dynasty  we  find  that 
a  sanctuary  and  shrine  were  built  in  honour  of  Amen  at  Thebes 
in  the  northern  quarter  of  the  city  which  was  called  Apt,  f\  D  Q , 
r  © ;  from  this  Avord,  with  the  addition  of  the  feminine 
le  Copts  derived  their  name  for  the  city  Tape,  T<\ne, 
and  from  it  also  comes  the  common  name  "  Thebes."  Over  Apt 
the  quarter  of  the  city  there  presided  a  goddess  also  called  Apt, 
0  Q  i  who  was  either  the  personification  of  it,  or  a  mere  local 
goddess  to  whom  accident  or  design  had  given  the  same  name  as 
the  quarter ;  it  is,  however,  most  probable  that  the  goddess  was 
the  spirit  or  personification  of  the  place.  In  the  reliefs  on  which 
she  is  represented  we  see  her  in  the  form  of  a  woman  holding  the 
sceptre,  J,  and  "life,"  -¥-,  in  her  hands,  and  wearing  upon  her 
head  the  disk  and  horns,  \°y '  •>  which  rest  upon  £2,  the  hiero- 
glyphic which  has  for  its  phonetic  value  Apt,  and  stands  for  the 
name  of  the  goddess.  The  disk  and  the  horns  prove  that  the 
tutelary  goddess  of  Thebes  was  a  form  of  Hathor. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Xllth  Dynasty  Amen  was  a  god  of  no 
more  than  local  importance,  but  as  soon  as  the  princes  of  Thebes 
had  conquered  their  rival  claimants  to  the  sovereignty  of  Egypt, 
and  had  succeeded  in  making  their  city  a  new  capital  of  the 
country  their  god  Amen  became  a  prominent  god  in  Upper 
Egypt,  and  it  was  probably  under  that  dynasty  that  the  attempt 
was  made  to  assign  to  him  the  proud  position  which  was  after- 
wards claimed  for  him  of  "  king  of  the  gods."  His  sanctuary  at 
Karnak  was  at  that  time  a  comparatively  small  building,  which 
consisted  of  a  shrine,  with  a  few  small  chambers  grouped  about  it 
and  a  forecourt  with  a  colonnade  on  two  sides  of  it,  and  it  remained, 
practically,  in  this  form  until  the  rise  to  power  of  the  kings  of  the 
XVIIIth  Dynasty.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  if  the  sanctuary  of 
Amen  at  Thebes  was  a  new  foundation  in  that  city  by  the  kings 
of  the  Xllth  Dynasty,  or  whether  the  site  had  been  previously 
occupied  by  a  temple  to  the  god ;  the  probability  is  that  the  god 


4  PRIESTS   OF   AMEN 

possessed  a  temple  in  Apt  from  the  earliest  times,  and  that  all 
that  they  did  was  to  rebuild  Amen's  sanctuary.  As  soon  as  the 
Theban  princes  became  kings  of  Egypt  their  priests  at  once  began 
to  declare  that  their  god  was  not  only  another  form  of  the  great 
creative  Sun-god  who  had  been  worshipped  for  centuries  at  Annu, 
or  Heliopolis,  in  the  North  of  Egypt,  under  the  names  of  Ra, 
Temu,  Khepera,  and  Heru-khuti,  but  that  all  the  attributes  which 
were  ascribed  to  them  were  contained  in  him,  and  that  he  was 
greater  than  they.     And  as  Thebes  had  become  the  capital  instead 


Horns  and  Hekan  presenting  Amen-lietep  III.,  when  a  babe,  and  bis  double,  to  Amen-Ea, 
lord  of  the  thrones  of  Egypt,  king  of  the  gods. 

of  Memphis,  it  followed  as  a  matter  of  course  that  all  the 
attributes  of  all  the  great  gods  of  Memphis  were  contained  in  Amen 
also.  Thus  by  these  means  the  priests  of  Amen  succeeded  in 
making  their  god,  both  theologically  and  politically,  the  greatest 
of  the  gods  in  the  country. 

Owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  Egypt  under  the  XHIth  and 
XlVth  Dynasties,  and  under  the  rule  of  the  Hyksos,  pretensions  of 
this  kind  passed  unchallenged,  especially  as  they  were  supported 
by  arms,  and  by  the  end  of  the  XVIIth  Dynasty  Amen  had 
attained  to  an  almost  unrivalled  position  among  the  gods  of  the 


HYMN    TO   AMEN-RA  5 

land.  And  when  his  royal  devotees  in  this  dynasty  succeeded  in 
expelling  the  Hyksos  from  the  land,  and  their  successors  the  kings 
of  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty  carried  war  and  conquest  into  Palestine 
and  founded  Egyptian  cities  there,  the  power  and  glory  of  Amen 
their  god,  who  had  enabled  them  to  carry  out  this  difficult  work  of 
successful  invasion,  became  extraordinarily  great.  His  priests 
began  by  asserting  his  equality  with  the  other  great  gods  of  the 
old  sanctuaries  of  Heliopolis,  Memphis,  Herakleopolis,  and  other 
ancient  cities,  and  finally  they  satisfied,  or,  at  all  events,  attempted 
to  do  so,  all  worshippers  of  every  form  of  the  Sun-god  Ra  by 
adding  his  name  to  that  of  Amen,  and  thus  forming  a  great  god 
who  included  within  himself  all  the  attributes  of  the  primeval  god 
Amen  and  of  Ra.  The  highest  conception  of  Amen-Ra  under  the 
XlXth  and  XXth  Dynasties  was  that  of  an  invisible  creative 
power  which  was  the  source  of  all  life  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth, 
and  in  the  great  deep,  and  in  the  Underworld,  and  which  made 
itself  manifest  under  the  form  of  Ra.  Nearly  every  attribute  of 
deity  with  which  we  are  made  familiar  by  the  hymns  to  Ra  was 
ascribed  to  Amen  after  his  union  with  Ra  ;  but  the  priests  of  Amen 
were  not  content  with  claiming  that  their  god  was  one  of  the  greatest 
of  the  deities  of  Egypt,  for  they  proceeded  to  declare  that  there  was 
no  other  god  like  him,  and  that  he  was  the  greatest  of  them  all. 

The  power  and  might  ascribed  to  Amen-Ra  are  Avell  described 
in  hymns  which  must  be  quoted  in  full.  The  first  of  these  occurs 
in  the  Papyrus  of  Hu-nefer  (Brit.  Mus.,  No.  9,901,  sheet  i.),  where 
it  follows  immediately  after  a  hymn  to  Ra ;  this  papyrus  was 
written  in  the  reign  of  Seti  I.,  and  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
the  two  gods  are  addressed  separately,  and  that  the  hymn  to  Ra 
precedes  that  to  Amen-Ra.  The  text  reads  : — "  Homage  to  thee, 
"  0  Amen-Ra,  Avho  dost  rest  upon  Maat ;  as  thou  passest  over  the 
"  heavens  every  face  seeth  thee.  Thou  dost  wax  great  as  thy 
"  majesty  doth  advance,  and  thy  rays  [shine]  upon  all  faces. 
"  Thou  art  unknown,  and  no  tongue  hath  power  to  declare  thy 
"  similitude ;  only  thou  thyself  [canst  do  this].  Thou  art  One, 
"  even  as  is  he  that  bringeth  the  tend  basket.  Men  praise  thee  in 
"  thy  name,  and  they  swear  by  thee,  for  thou  art  lord  over  them. 
"  Thou  nearest  with  thine  ears  and  thou  seest  with  thine  eyes. 


6  HYMN   TO   AMEN-RA 

"  Millions  of  years  have  gone  over  the  world,  and  I  cannot  tell  the 
'  number  of  those  through  which  thou  hast  passed.  Thy  heart 
"hath  decreed  a  day  of  happiness  in  thy  name  of  'Traveller.' 
"Thou  dost  pass  over  and  dost  travel  through  untold  spaces 
"  [requiring]  millions  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  [to  pass 
"  over] ;  thou  passest  through  them  in  peace,  and  thou  steerest 
"  thy  way  across  the  watery  abyss  to  the  place  which  thou  lovest ; 
"  this  thou  doest  in  one  little  moment  of  time,  and  then  thou  dost 
"  sink  down  and  dost  make  an  end  of  the  hours."  How  far  the 
attributes  ascribed  to  Amen-Ra  in  this  hymn  represent  those 
generally  bestowed  upon  the  god  in  the  XlXth  Dynasty  is 
unknown,  but  the  points  chiefly  dwelt  upon  are  the  unity,  and  the 
invisibility,  and  the  long  duration  of  the  existence  of  the  god ; 
nothing  is  said  about  Amen-Ra  being  self-begotten  and  self-born, 
or  of  his  great  creative  powers,  or  of  his  defeat  of  the  serpent-fiend 
Nak,  and  it  is  quite  clear  that  Hu-nefer  drew  a  sharp  distinction 
between  the  attributes  of  the  two  gods. 

The  following  hymn,1  which  was  probably  written  under  the 
XXth  or  XXIst  Dynasty,  well  illustrates  the  growth  of  the  power 
both  of  Amen-Ra  and  of  his  priests : — "  Praise  be  to  Amen-Ra,  the 
"  Bull  in  Annu,  the  chief  of  all  the  gods,  the  beautiful  god,  the 
"  beloved  one,  the  giver  of  the  life  of  all  warmth  to  all  beautiful 
"  cattle.2  Homage  to  thee,  0  Amen-Ra,  lord  of  the  thrones  of  the 
"  two  lands,  the  governor  of  the  Apts  (i.e.,  Thebes,  north  and  south), 
"  thou  Bull  of  thy  mother,  who  art  chief  in  thy  fields,  whose  steps  are 
"  long,  who  art  lord  of  the  land  of  the  South,  who  art  lord  of  the 
"  Matchau  peoples,  and  prince  of  Punt,  and  king  of  heaven,  and  first- 
"  born  god  of  earth,  and  lord  of  things  which  exist,  and  stablisher  of 
"  creation,  yea,  stablisher  of  all  creation.  Thou  art  One  among  the 
"  gods  by  reason  of  his  seasons.  Thou  art  the  beautiful  Bull  of  the 
"  company  of  the  gods,  thou  art  the  chief  of  all  the  gods,  thou  art 
"  the  lord  of  Maat,  and  the  father  of  the  gods,  and  the  creator  of 

1  For  the  hieratic  text  see  Mariette,  Les  Papyrus  Hjgyptiens  du  Muse'e  de 
Boidaq,  pll.  11-13  ;  and  a  French  version  of  the  hymn  is  given  by  Grebaut,  Hymne 
a,  Ammon-Ba,  Paris,  1875. 

The  word  nsed  here  for  cattle  is  rnenmen,  and  a  play  is  intended  upon  it  and 
the  name  Amen,  who  in  his  character  of  "  bull  of  Annu  "  was  the  patron  of  cattle. 


HYMN   TO   AMEN-RA 


men  and  women,  and  the  maker  of  animals,  and  the  lord  of 
things  which  exist,  and  the  producer  of  the  staff  of  life  (i.e., 
wheat  and  barley),  and  the  maker  of  the  herb  of  the  field  which 
giveth  life  unto  cattle.  Thou  art  the  beautiful  Sekhem  who  wast 
made  (i.e.,  begotten)  by  Ptah,  and  the  beautiful  Child  who  art 
beloved.  The  gods  acclaim  thee,  0  thou  who  art  the  maker  of 
things  which  are  below  and  of  things  which  are  above.  Thou 
illuminest  the  two  lands,  and  thou  sailest  over  the  sky  in  peace, 
0  king  of  the  South  and  North,  Ra,  whose  word  hath  unfailing 
effect,  who  art  over  the  two  lands,  thou  mighty  one  of  two-fold 
strength,  thou  lord  of  terror,  thou  Being  above  who  makest  the 


Amen-Ea,  with  his  attributes. 


earth  according  to  thine  own  designs.  Thy  devices  are  greater 
and  more  numerous  than  those  of  any  other  god.  The  gods 
rejoice  in  thy  beauties,  and  they  ascribe  praise  unto  thee  in  the 
great  double  house,  and  at  thy  risings  in  (or,  from)  the  double  house 
of  flame.  The  gods  love  the  smell  of  thee  when  thou  comest  from 
Punt  (i.e.,  the  spice  land),  thou  eldest  born  of  the  dew,  who 
comest  from  the  land  of  the  Matchau  peoples,  thou  Beautiful 
Face,  who  comest  from  the  Divine  Land  (Neter-ta).  The  gods 
tremble  at  thy  feet  when  they  recognize  thy  majesty  as  their 
lord,  thou  lord  who  art  feared,  thou  Being  of  whom  awe  is  great, 
thou   Being  whose   souls   are   mighty,  who   hast   possession   of 


8  HYMN   TO   AMEN-RA 

"  crowns,  who  dost  make  offerings  to  be  abundant,  and  who  dost 
"  make  divine  food  (tchefau). 

"  Adorations  be  to  thee,  0  thou  creator  of  the  gods,  who  hast 
u  stretched  out  the  heavens  and  made  solid  the  earth.  Thou  art 
"  the  untiring  watcher,  0  Amsu-Amen  (or  Min-Amen),  the  lord  of 
"  eternity,  and  maker  of  everlastingness,  and  to  thee  adorations 
"  are  paid  as  the  Governor  of  the  Apts.  Thou  hast  two  horns 
"  which  endure,  and  thine  aspects  are  beautiful,  and  thou  art  the 

u  lord  of  the  ureret  crown  (<=>  °  Pa)  ,  and  thy  double  plumes  are 
"  lofty,  thy  tiara  is  one  of  beauty,  and  thy  White  Crown  M  o  n\ 
u  is  lofty.  The  goddess  Mehen  (™"5Pn),  and  the  Uatcheti 
u  goddesses  ("Hh  Jk  J)n, ,  i.e.,  Nekhebet  and  Uatchet),  are  about 
"  thy  face,  and  the  croAvns  of  the  South  and  North  Cy  ) ,  and  the 
"  Nemmes  crown,  and  the  helmet  crown  are  thy  adornments  (?)  in 
"  thy  temple.  Thy  face  is  beautiful  and  thou  receivest  the  Atef 
"  crown  (  j2)  '  anc^  thou  art  beloved  of  the  South  and  the  North ; 
"  thou  receivest  the  crowns  of  the  South  and  the  North,  and  thou 
"  receivest  the  amesu  sceptre  (y  ) ,  and  thou  art  the  lord  of  the 
"  makes  sceptre  (S) ,  and  of  the  whip  (or  flail,  J\)  -1  Thou  art 
"  the  beautiful  Prince,  who  risest  like  the  sun  with  the  White 
"  Crown,  and  thou  art  the  lord  of  radiant  light  and  the  creator  of 
"  brilliant  rays.  The  gods  ascribe  praises  unto  thee,  and  he  who 
"  loveth  thee  stretcheth  out  his  two  hands  to  thee.  Thy  flame  maketh 
"  thine  enemies  to  fall,  and  thine  Eye  overthroweth  the  Sebdu  fiends, 
"  and  it  driveth  its  spear  through  the  sky  into  the  serpent-fiend 
"  Nak  and  maketh  it  to  vomit  that  which  it  hath  swallowed. 

"  Homage  to  thee,  0  Ra,  thou  lord  of  Maat,  whose  shrine  is 
"  hidden,  thou  lord  of  the  gods ;  thou  art  Khepera  in  thy  boat, 
"  and  when  thou  didst  speak  the  word  the  gods  sprang  into  being. 

1  In  the  text  of  Unas  (1.  206  f.)  we  have,  "  O  Unas,  thou  hast  not  departed 
"as  one  dead,  but  as  one  living  thou  hast  gone  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of  Osiris. 

"  Thy  sceptre  db  (  y  J  is  in  thy  hand,  and  thou  givest  commands  to  the  living,  thy 

"  sceptre  mekes  (  ^|\    ^zz^   If)  an(i  ^7  sceptre  nehbet  (/vw™  0     j  ^  Q )  are  in 
"  thy  hands,  and  thou  givest  commands  to  those  whose  places  are  hidden." 


The    God    AMSU. 


HYMN   TO   AMEN-RA  9 

"Thou  art  Temu,  who  didst  create  beings  endowed  with  reason; 
"  thou  makest  the  colour  of  the  skin  of  one  race  to  be  different 
"  from  that  of  another,  but,  however  many  may  be  the  varieties  of 
"  mankind,  it  is  thou  that  makest  them  all  to  live.  Thou  nearest 
"  the  prayer  of  him  that  is  oppressed,  thou  art  kind  of  heart  unto 
"  him  that  calleth  upon  thee,  thou  deliverest  him  that  is  afraid 
"  from  him  that  is  violent  of  heart,  and  thou  judgest  between  the 
"  strong  and  the  weak.  Thou  art  the  lord  of  intelligence,  and 
"  knowledge  is  that  which  proceedeth  from  thy  mouth.  The  Nile 
"  cometh  at  thy  will,  and  thou  art  the  greatly  beloved  lord  of  the 
"  palm  tree  who  makest  mortals  to  live.  Thou  makest  every  work 
"  to  proceed,  thou  workest  in  the  sky,  and  thou  makest  to  come 
"  into  being  the  beauties  of  the  daylight ;  the  gods  rejoice  in  thy 
"  beauties,  and  their  hearts  live  when  they  see  thee.  Hail,  Ra, 
"  who  art  adored  in  the  Apts,  thou  mighty  one  who  risest  in  the 

"shrine:   0  Ani  (fl  flfl  ^)>  tnou  lord  of  the  festival  of  the  new 

"  moon,  who  makest  the  six  days'  festival  and  the  festival  of  the 
"  last  quarter  of  the  moon.  Hail,  Prince,  life,  health,  and  strength, 
"  thou  lord  of  all  the  gods,  whose  appearances  are  in  the  horizon, 
"  thou  Governor  of  the  ancestors  of  Aukert  (i.e.,  the  underworld), 
"  thy  name  is  hidden  from  thy  children  in  thy  name  '  Amen.' 

"  Hail  to  thee,  0  thou  who  art  in  peace,  thou  lord  of  joy  of 
"  heart,  thou  crowned  form,  thou  lord  of  the  ureret  crown,  whose 
"  plumes  are  exalted,  whose  tiara  is  beautiful,  whose  White  Crown 
"  is  lofty,  the  gods  love  to  look  upon  thee ;  the  crowns  of  the 
"  South  and  North  are  established  upon  thy  brow.  Beloved  art 
"  thou  as  thou  passest  through  the  two  lands,  as  thou  sendest 
"  forth  rays  from  thy  two  beautiful  eyes.  The  dead  are  rapturous 
"  with  delight  when  thou  shinest.  The  cattle  become  languid 
"  when  thou  shinest  in  full  strength ;  beloved  art  thou  when  thou 
"  art  in  the  southern  sky,  and  thou  art  esteemed  lovely  when  thou 
"  art  in  the  northern  sky.  Thy  beauties  take  possession  of  and 
"  carry  away  all  hearts,  and  love  for  thee  maketh  all  arms  to  relax, 
"  thy  beautiful  form  maketh  the  hands  to  tremble,  and  all  hearts 
"  melt  at  the  sight  of  thee. 

"  Hail,  thou  Form  who  art  One,  thou  creator  of  all  things ; 


10  HYMN   TO   AMEN-BA 

"  hail,  thou  Only  One,  thou  maker  of  things  which  exist.  Men 
"  came  forth  from  thy  two  eyes,  and  the  gods  sprang  into  being 
"  as  the  issue  of  thy  mouth.  Thou  makest  the  green 'herbs  whereby 
"  cattle  live,  and  the  staff  of  life  for  the  use  of  man.  Thou  makest 
"  the  fish  to  live  in  the  rivers,  and  the  feathered  fowl  in  the  sky  ; 
"  thou  givest  the  breath  of  life  to  that  which  is  in  the  egg,  thou 
"  makest  birds  of  every  kind  to  live,  and  likewise  the  reptiles  that 
"  creep  and  fly ;  thou  causest  the  rats  to  live  in  their  holes,  and 
"  the  birds  that  are  on  every  green  tree.  Hail  to  thee,  0  thou 
"  who  hast  made  all  these  things,  thou  Only  One  ;  thy  might 
"  hath  many  forms.  Thou  watchest  all  men  as  they  sleep,  and 
"  thou  seekest  the  good  of  thy  brute  creation.  Hail,  Amen,  who 
"  dost  establish  all  things,  and  who  art  Atmu  and  Harmachis,  all 
"  people  adore  thee,  saying,  '  Praise  be  to  thee  because  of  thy 
"  '  resting  among  us ;  homage  to  thee  because  thou  hast  created 
"  '  us.'  All  creatures  say,  '  Hail  to  thee ' !  and  all  lands  praise 
"  thee ;  from  the  height  of  the  sky,  to  the  breadth  of  the  earth, 
"  and  to  the  depths  of  the  sea  thou  art  praised.  The  gods  bow 
"  down  before  thy  majesty  to  exalt  the  Will  of  their  Creator ;  they 
"  rejoice  when  they  meet  their  begetter,  and  say  to  thee,  '  Come 
"  '  in  peace,  0  father  of  the  fathers  of  all  the  gods,  who  hast  spread 
"  '  out  the  sky,  and  hast  founded  the  earth,  maker  of  things  which 
"  '  are,  creator  of  things  which  exist,  thou  Prince  (life,  health,  and 
"  ;  strength  [to  thee  !]),  thou  Governor  of  the  gods.  We  adore  thy 
"  '  Will  (or,  souls)  for  thou  hast  made  us ;  thou  hast  made  us  and 
"  '  hast  given  us  birth.* 

"  Hail  to  thee,  maker  of  all  things,  lord  of  Maat,  father  of  the 
"  gods,  maker  of  men,  creator  of  animals,  lord  of  grain,  who 
"  makest  to  live  the  cattle  on  the  hills.  Hail,  Amen,  bull, 
"  beautiful  of  face,  beloved  in  the  Apts,  mighty  of  rising  in  the 
"  shrine,  who  art  doubly  crowned  in  Heliopolis ;  thou  art  the 
"  judge  of  Horus  and  Set  in  the  Great  Hall.  Thou  art  the  head 
"  of  the  company  of  the  gods,  Only  One,  who  hast  no  second, 
"  thou  governor  of  the  Apts,  Ani  at  the  head  of  the  company  of  the 
"  gods,  living  in  Maat  daily,  thou  Horus  of  the  East  of  the  double 
"  horizon.  Thou  hast  created  the  mountain,  and  the  silver  and 
"  real  lapis-lazuli  at  thy  will.     Incense  and  fresh  dnti  are  prepared 


HYMN   TO   AMEN-RA  11 

for  thy  nostrils,  0  beautiful  Face,  who  comest  forth  from  the 
land  of  the  Matchau,  Amen-Ra,  lord  of  the  thrones  of  the  two 
lands,  at  the  head  of  the  Apts,  Ani,  the  chief  of  thy  shrine. 
Thou  king  who  art  One  among  the  gods,  thy  names  are  manifold, 
and  how  many  they  are  is  unknown  ;  thou  shinest  in  the  eastern 
and  western  horizons,  and  overthrowest  thy  enemies  at  thy  birth 
daily.  Thoth  exalteth  thy  two  eyes,  and  maketh  thee  to  set  in 
splendour ;  the  gods  rejoice  in  thy  beauties  which  those  who  are 
in  thy  [following]  exalt.  Thou  art  the  lord  of  the  Sektet  Boat 
and  of  the  Atet  Boat,  which  travel  over  the  sky  for  thee  in 
peace.  Thy  sailors  rejoice  when  they  see  Nak  overthrown, 
and  his  limbs  stabbed  with  the  knife,  and  the  fire  devouring 
him,  and  his  filthy  soul  beaten  out  of  his  filthy  body,  and  his 
feet  carried  away.  The  gods  rejoice,  Ra  is  content,  and  Annu 
(Heliopolis)  is  glad  because  the  enemies  of  Atmu  are  over- 
thrown, and  the  heart  of  Nebt-Ankh  (i.e.,  Isis)  is  happy  because 
the  enemies  of  her  lord  are  overthrown.  The  gods  of  Kher-aha 
rejoice,  and  those  who  dwell  in  the  shrine  are  making  obeisance 
when  they  see  thee  mighty  in  thy  strength.  Thou  art  the 
Sekhem  (i.e.,  Power)  of  the  gods,  and  Maat  of  the  Apts  in  thy 
name  of  '  Maker  of  Maat.'  Thou  art  the  lord  of  tchefau  food, 
the  Bull  of  offerings  (?)  in  thy  name,  '  Amen,  Bull  of  his  mother.' 
Thou  art  the  fashioner  of  mortals,  the  creator,  the  maker  of  all 
things  which  are  in  thy  name  of  Temu-Khepera.  Thou  art  the 
Great  Hawk  which  gladdeneth  the  body ;  the  Beautiful  Face 
which  gladdeneth  the  breast.  Thou  art  the  Form  of  [many] 
forms,  with  a  lofty  crown  ;  the  Uatcheti  goddesses  (i.e.,  Nekhebet 
and  Uatchet)  fly  before  his  face.  The  hearts  of  the  dead  (?)  go 
out  to  meet  him,  and  the  denizens  of  heaven  turn  to  him ;  his 
appearances  rejoice  the  two  lands.  Homage  to  thee,  Amen-Ra, 
lord  of  the  throne  of  the  two  lands  ;  thy  city  loveth  thy  radiant 
light." 

The  chief  point  of  interest  in  connexion  with  this  hymn  is  the 
proof  it  affords  of  the  completeness  with  which  iinien  had  absorbed 
all  the  attributes  of  Ra  and  of  every  other  ancient  form  of  the 
Sun-god,  and  how  in  the  course  of  about  one  hundred  years  he 
had  risen  from  the  position  of  a  mere  local  god  to  that  of  the 


12  THE   PRIEST   KINGS 

"king  of  the  gods"  of  Egypt.  In  the  XVIIIth  and  XlXth 
Dynasties  the  wealth  of  his  priesthood  must  have  been  enormous, 
and  the  religious  and  social  powers  which  they  possessed  made 
them,  in  many  respects,  as  powerful  as  the  reigning  family. 
Thebes,  the  capital  of  Egypt  and  the  centre  of  the  worship   of 

Amen-Ra,    was   rightly   called   the    "city   of  Amen,"     ®    (j 

(the  No-Amon  of  Nahum  iii.  8),  and  there  is  reason  to  think  that 
many  of  the  great  Egyptian  raids  in  Syria  and  Nubia  were  made 
as  much  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  funds  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  temples,  and  services,  and  priests  of  Amen-Ra  as  for  the 
glory  and  prestige  of  Egypt.  The  slavish  homage  which  the 
Thothmes  kings,  and  the  Amen-heteps,  and  the  Ramessids  paid  to 
Amen-Ra,  and  their  lavish  gifts  to  his  sanctuaries  suggest  that  it 
was  his  priests  who  were,  in  reality,  the  makers  of  war  and  peace. 
Under  the  XXth  Dynasty  their  power  was  still  very  great,  and 
the  list  of  the  gifts  which  Rameses  III.  made  to  their  order 
illustrates  their  influence  over  this  monarch.  Towards  the  close 
of  this  dynasty  we  find  that  they  had  succeeded  in  obtaining 
authority  from  the  feeble  and  incapable  successors  of  Rameses  III. 
to  levy  taxes  on  the  people  of  Thebes,  and  to  appropriate  to  the 
use  of  their  order  certain  of  the  revenues  of  the  city ;  this  was 
only  what  was  to  be  expected,  for,  since  the  treasury  of  the  god 
was  no  longer  supplied  by  expeditions  into  Syria,  the  priests 
found  poverty  staring  them  in  the  face.  When  the  last  Rameses 
was  dead  the  high-priest  of  Amen-Ra  became  king  of  Egypt 
almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  he  and  his  immediate  successors 
formed  the  XXIst  Dynasty,  or  the  Dynasty  of  priest-kings  of  Egypt. 
Their  chief  aim  was  to  maintain  the  power  of  their  god  and 
of  their  own  order,  and  for  some  years  they  succeeded  in  doing  so ; 
but  they  were  priests  and  not  warriors,  and  their  want  of  funds 
became  more  and  more  pressing,  for  the  simple  reason  that  they 
had  no  means  of  enforcing  the  payment  of  tribute  by  the  peoples 
and  tribes  who,  even  under  the  later  of  the  kings  bearing  the 
name  of  Rameses,  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  Egypt.  Mean- 
while the  poverty  of  the  inhabitants  of  Thebes  increased  rapidly, 
and  they  were  not  only  unable  to  contribute  to  the  maintenance 


NESI-KHENSU  13 

of  the  acres  of  temple  buildings  and  to  the  services  of  the  god, 
but  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  a  living.  These  facts  are  proved 
by  many  considerations,  but  chiefly  by  the  robberies  which  are 
described  or  referred  to  in  several  papyri  of  the  royal  tombs 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  at  Thebes  ;  and  the 
discoveries  of  the  royal  mummies  at  Der  al-Bahari  shows  that  the 
Government  of  the  period  was  unable  either  to  protect  the  royal 
tombs  or  to  suppress  the  gang  of  robbers  who  systematically 
pillaged  them.  The  robberies  were  carried  out  with  the  connivance 
of  several  high  officials,  and  it  Avas  to  the  interests  of  large 
numbers  of  the  inhabitants  of  Thebes  to  make  abortive  the  legal 
proceedings  which  were  taken  by  the  Government  against  them. 
Notwithstanding  their  growing  poverty  and  waning  influence  the 
priests  in  no  way  abated  the  pretensions  of  their  god  or  of  themselves, 
and  they  continued  to  proclaim  the  glory  and  power  of  Amen-Ra  in 
spite  of  the  increasing  power  of  the  Libyans  in  the  Delta. 

In  a  very  remarkable  document  written  for  Nesi-Khensu,  the 
daughter  of  one  of  the  priest-kings  of  Amen-Ra,  the  god  is  made  to 
enter  into  an  agreement  to  provide  for  the  happiness  and  deification 
of  the  deceased  in  the  Underworld,  and  the  terms  of  this  agree- 
ment are  expressed  with  all  the  precision,  and  in  the  phraseology, 
of  a  leg-al  document.  This  is  interesting  enough  as  illustrating;  the 
relations  which  the  priests  assumed  to  exist  between  themselves 
and  their  gods,  but  the  introduction  to  the  agreement  is  more 
important  for  our  purpose  here,  because  in  it  are  enumerated  all 
the  chief  attributes  which  were  ascribed  to  Amen-Ra  under  the 
XXIst  Dynasty.  The  following  is  a  rendering  of  this  portion  of 
the  papyrus  of  Nesi-Khensu  : — l 

"  This  holy  god,  the  lord  of  all  the  gods,  Amen-Ra,  the  lord  of 
"  the  thrones  of  the  two  lands,  the  governors  of  Apt ;  the  holy  soul 
"  who  came  into  being  in  the  beginning  ;  the  great  god  who  liveth 
"  by  (or  upon)  Maat ;  the  first  divine  matter  which  gave  birth 
"  unto  subsequent  divine  matter !  2  the  being  through  whom  every 

1  A  hieroglyphic  transcript  of  the  hieratic  text  of  this  remarkable  document, 
together  with  a  French  translation,  has  been  published  by  Maspero  in  Les  Momies 
Eoyales  dc  Deir-el-bahaH,  p.  594  f. 

2  Or,  "the  primeval  paut  which  gave  birth  unto  the  [other]  two pautti." 


14  NESI-KHENSU 

"  [other]  god  hath  existence  ;   the  One  One  who  hath  made  every- 
"  thing  which  hath  come  into  existence  since  primeval  times  when 
"  the  world  was  created  ;  the  being  whose  births  are  hidden,  whose 
"  evolutions  are  manifold,  and  whose  growths  are  unknown ;  the 
"  holy  Form,  beloved,  terrible,  and  mighty  in  his  risings  ;   the  lord 
"  of  wealth,  the  power,  Khepera  who  createth  every  evolution  of 
"  his  existence,  except  whom  at  the  beginning  none  other  existed  ; 
"  who  at  the  dawn  in  the  primeval  time  was  Atennu,  the  prince  of 
"  rays  and  beams  of  light ;  who  having  made  himself  [to  be  seen, 
"  caused]  all  men  to  live ;   who  saileth  over  the  celestial  regions 
"  and  faileth  not,  for  at  dawn  on  the  morrow  his  ordinances  are 
"  made  permanent ;  who  though  an  old  man  shineth  in  the  form  of 
"  one  that  is  young,  and  having  brought  (or  led)  the  uttermost 
"  parts   of  eternity  goeth  round   about  the  celestial  regions   and 
"  journeyeth  through  the  Tuat  to  illumine  the  two  lands  which  he 
"  hath  created  ;  the  God  who  acted  as  God,  who  moulded  himself, 
"  who  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth  by  his  will  (or  heart) ;  the 
"  greatest  of  the  great,  the  mightiest  of  the  mighty,  the  prince  who 
"  is  mightier  than  the  gods,  the  young  Bull  with  sharp  horns,  the 
"  protector  of  the  two  lands  in  his  mighty  name  of  '  The  everlast- 
"  '  ing   one  who   cometh  and   hath  his    might,  who  bringeth  the 
"  '  remotest  limit  of  eternity,'  the  god-prince  who  hath  been  prince 
"  from  the  time  that  he  came  into  being,  the  conqueror  of  the  two 
"  lands  by  reason  of  his  might,  the   terrible  one  of  the  double 
"  divine  face,  the  divine  aged  one,  the  divine  form  who  dwelleth  in 
"  the  forms  of  all  the  gods,  the  Lion-god  with  awesome  eye,  the 
"  sovereign  who  casteth  forth  the  two   Eyes,   the    lord   of  flame 
"  [which  goeth]  against  his  enemies ;   the  god  Nu,  the  prince  who 
"  advanceth  at  his  hour  to  vivify  that  which  cometh  forth  upon  his 
"  potter's  wheel,  the   disk  of  the   Moon-god  who  openeth  a  way 
"  both   in  heaven  and  upon    earth   for   the  beautiful  form ;    the 
"  beneficent    (or   operative)    god,    who   is    untiring,    and   who    is 
"  vigorous   of  heart   both  in  rising  and   in    setting,  from  whose 
"  divine  eyes  come  forth  men  and  women  ;   at  whose  utterance  the 
"  gods  come  into  being,  and  food  is  created,  and   tchefau  food  is 
"  made,  and  all  things  which  are  come  into  being  ;  the  traverser  of 
"  eternity,  the  old  man  who  maketh  himself  young  [again],  with 


NESI-KHENSU  15 

"  myriads  of  pairs  of  eyes  and  numberless  pairs  of  ears,  whose 
"  light  is  the  guide  of  the  god  of  millions  of  years  ;  the  lord  of 
"  life,  who  giveth  unto  whom  he  pleaseth  the  circuit  of  the  earth 
"  along  with  the  abode  of  his  divine  face,  who  setteth  out  upon  his 
"  journey  and  suffereth  no  mishap  by  the  way,  whose  work  none 
"can  destroy;  the  lord  of  delight,  whose  name  is  sweet  and 
"  beloved,  at  dawn  mankind  make  supplications  unto  him  the 
"  Mighty  one  of  victory,  the  Mighty  one  of  twofold  strength,  the 
"  Possessor  of  fear,  the  young  Bull  who  maketh  an  end  of  the 
"  hostile  ones,  the  Mighty  one  who  doeth  battle  with  his  foes, 
"  through  whose  divine  plans  the  earth  came  into  being ;  the 
"  Soul  who  giveth  light  from  his  two  Utchats  (Eyes) ;  the  god 
"  Baiti  who  created  the  divine  transformations  ;  the  holy  one  who 
"  is  unknown ;  the  king  who  maketh  kings  to  rule,  and  who 
"  girdeth  up  the  earth  in  its  courses,  and  to  whose  souls  the  gods 
"  and  the  goddesses  pay  homage  by  reason  of  the  might  of  his 
"  terror;  since  he  hath  gone  before  that  which  followeth  endureth  ; 
"  the  creator  of  the  world  by  his  secret  counsels ;  the  god  Khepera 
"  who  is  unknown  and  who  is  more  hidden  than  the  [other]  gods, 
"  whose  vicar  is  the  divine  Disk ;  the  unknown  one  who  hideth 
"  himself  from  that  which  cometh  forth  from  him;  he  is  the  flame 
"  which  sendeth  forth  rays  of  light  with  mighty  splendour,  but 
"  though  he  can  be  seen  in  form  and  observation  can  be  made  of 
"  him  at  his  appearance  yet  he  cannot  be  understood,  and  at  dawn 
"  mankind  make  supplication  unto  him  ;  his  risings  are  of  crystal 
"  among  the  company  of  the  gods,  and  he  is  the  beloved  object  of 
"  every  god  ;  the  god  Nu  cometh  forward  with  the  north  wind  in 
"  this  god  who  is  hidden ;  who  maketh  decrees  for  millions  of 
"  double  millions  of  years,  whose  ordinances  are  fixed  and  are  not 
"  destroyed,  whose  utterances  are  gracious,  and  whose  statutes  fail 
"  not  in  his  appointed  time  ;  who  giveth  duration  of  life  and 
"  doubleth  the  years  of  those  unto  whom  he  hath  a  favour  ;  who 
"  graciously  protecteth  him  whom  he  hath  set  in  his  heart ;  who 
"  hath  formed  eternity  and  everlastingness,  the  king  of  the  South 
"  and  of  the  North,  Amen-Ra,  the  king  of  the  gods,  the  lord  of 
"  heaven  and  of  earth,  and  of  the  deep,  and  of  the  two  mountains 
"  in  whose  form  the  earth  began  to  exist,  he  the  mighty  one,  who 


16  FORMS    OF   AMEN-RA 

"  is  more  distinguished  than  all  the  gods  of  the  first  and  foremost 
"  company." 

The  definiteness  of  the  assertions  of  this  composition  suggest 
that  it  formed  the  creed  of  the  worshippers  of  Amen-Ra,  for  every 
one  of  them  appears  to  have  been  made  with  the  express  purpose 
of  contradicting  the  pretensions  urged  by  the  priests  of  other  gods, 
e.g.,  Aten  and  Osiris ;  and  an  examination  of  the  sentences  will 
show  that  Amen  is  made  to  be  the  source  of  life  of  all  things, 
both  animate  and  inanimate,  and  that  he  is  identified  with  the 
great  unknown  God  who  made  the  universe.  It  is,  however, 
important  to  note  that  he  is  not  in  any  way  identified  with  Osiris 
in  this  text,  a  fact  which  seems  to  indicate  that  the  national  god  of 
the  Resurrection  in  Egypt  was  ignored  by  the  priests  of  Amen 
who  composed  the  contents  of  Nesi-Khensu's  papyrus.  From  what 
has  been  said  above  as  to  the  importance  of  Amen-Ra  it  will  be 
evident  that  a  large  number  of  shrines  of  this  god  must  have 
existed  throughout  the  country,  but  in  nearly  all  of  them  he  was 
an  intruder,  and  his  priests  must  have  lived  chiefly  upon  the 
endowments  which  the  pious  Egyptians  had  provided  for  gods 
other  than  he. 

We  may  now  consider  the  various  forms  x  in  which  Amen-Ra 
is  depicted  on  monuments  and  papyri.  His  commonest  form  is 
that  of  a  strong-bearded  man  who  wears  upon  his  head  lofty 
double  plumes,  the  various  sections  of  which  are  coloured 
alternately  red  and  green,  or  red  and  blue ;  round  his  neck  he 
wears  a  deep  collar  or  necklace,  and  his  close-fitting  tunic  is 
supported  by  elaborately  worked  shoulder-straps.  His  arms  and 
wrists  are  provided  with  armlets  and  bracelets,  in  his  right  hand 

is  the  symbol  of  life,  and  in  his  left  the  sceptre  ] .     Hanging  from 

his  tunic  is  the  tail  of  some  animal,  the  custom  of  wearing  which 
by  gods  and  kings  was  common  in  Egypt  in  the  earliest  times. 
In  this  form  his  title  is  "  Amen-Ra,  lord  of  the  thrones  of  the  two 
lands,"  |]aO  ^  SS  ^(  Instead  of  the  sign  of  life,  •¥-, 
he  sometimes  holds  the  Jchepesh  war  knife,  ^=^-,  in  his  right  hand.2 

1  For  a  number  of  them  see  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pll.  18  ff. 

2  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  21. 


FORMS    OF   AMEN-RA 


17 


At  times  he  is  given  the  head  of  a  hawk  which  is  surmounted  by 
the  solar  disk  encircled  by  a  serpent,  n&;  as  "  Amen-Ra-Temu  in 
Thebes  "  he  has  the  head  of  a  man  surmounted  by  the  solar  disk 

encircled  by  a  serpent ;    before   him    is    the    dnkh,   -¥- ,  which  is 

provided  with  human  legs  and  arms,  offering  lotus  flowers  to  the 
god.1  Thus  he  becomes  the  god  both  of  Heliopolis  and  Thebes." 
In  many  scenes  we  find  Amen-Ra  with  the  head  of  a  ram,  when  he 
usually  wears  the  solar  disk,  plumes,  and  uraeus ;  at  times,  how- 
ever, he  wears  the  disk  and  uraeus,  or  the  disk  only.  In  this  form 
he  is  called  "  Amen-Ra,  lord  of  the  thrones  of  the  two  lands,  the 
"  dweller  in  Thebes,  the  great  god  who  appeareth  in  the  horizon," 


Heru-sa-atep,  king  of  Ethiopia,  adoring  Amen-Ra. 


or  "  Amen-Ra,  lord  of  the  thrones  of  the  two  lands,  governor  of 
"  Ta-Kenset  (Nubia)."  Another  form  of  Amen-Ra  is  that  in 
which  he  is  represented  with  the  body  of  the  ithyphallic  god 
Amsu,  or  Min,  or  Khem,  i.e.,  as  the  personification  of  the  power  of 
generation.  In  this  form  he  wears  either  the  customary  disk  and 
plumes,  or  the  united  crowns  of  the  South  and  North,  and  has  one 
hand  and  arm  raised  to  support  A  ,  which  he  holds  above  his 
shoulder ;     he    is    called    "  Amen-Ra,    the    bull   of    his   mother," 


r""1"!  q 


5^ 


and  possesses  all  the  attributes  of  Fa-a, 


i.e.,  the  "  god  of  the  lifted  hand,' 


1  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  19. 


II- 


18  FORMS    OF   AMEN-RA 

In  one  of  the  examples  reproduced  by  Lanzone *  Amen-Ra  in 
his  ithyphallic  form  stands  by  the  side  of  a  pylon-shaped  building, 
on  the  top  of  which  are  two  trees,  one  on  each  side  of  a  large  lotus 
flower;  the  lotus  flower  represents  the  rising  sun,  which  was 
supposed  to  issue  daily  from  between  two  persea  trees.  In 
another  form  Amen-Ra  has  the  head  of  a  crocodile,  and  he  wears 
the  crown  which  is  composed  of  the  solar  disk,  plumes,  and  horns, 
and  is  called  the  "  disposer  of  the  life  of  Ra  and  of  the  years  of 
Temu."  Finally,  the  god  was  sometimes  represented  in  the  form 
of  a  goose ;  the  animal  sacred  to  him  in  many  parts  of  Egypt, 
and  all  over  Nubia,  was  the  ram.  In  very  late  dynastic  times, 
especially  in  the  Ptolemaic  period,  it  became  customary  to  make 
figures  of  Amen-Ra  in  bronze  in  which  every  important  attribute 
of  the  god  was  represented.  In  these  he  has  the  bearded  head 
of  a  man,  the  body  of  a  beetle  with  the  wings  of  a  hawk,  the  legs 
of  a  man  with  the  toes  and  claws  of  a  lion,  and  is  provided  with 
four  hands  and  arms,  and  four  wings,  the  last  named  being 
extended.     One  hand,  which  is  stretched  along  the  wing,  grasps 

the    symbols    1 ,  -V- ,  u ,    and   two   knives ;    another   is   raised   to 

support    £\,  after  the  manner  of  the  "god  of  the  lifted  hand;" 

a  third  holds  the  symbol  of  generation  and  fertility ;  and  the 
fourth  is  lifted  to  his  head.  The  face  of  the  god  is,  in  reality, 
that  of  the  solar  disk,  from  which  proceed  the  heads  and  necks  of 
eight  rams.  Resting  on  the  disk  is  a  pair  of  ram's  horns,  with  a 
disk  on  each,  and  stretching  upwards  are  the  two  characteristic 
plumes  of  the  god  Amen.  From  the  tip  of  each  of  these  projects 
a  lion-headed  uraeus  which  ejects  moisture  from  its  mouth.  This 
form  of  the  god  was  a  production  probably  of  the  period  imme- 
diately following  the  XXVIth  Dynasty,  but  some  modifications  of 
it  are  not  so  old.  The  idea  which  underlies  the  figure  is  that  of 
representing  the  paid  or  company  of  the  gods,  of  which  Amen  was 
the  chief,  and  of  showing  pictorially  how  every  one  of  the  oldest 
gods  of  Egypt  was  contained  in  him. 

In  the  Saite  Recension  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  we  find 
several  passages  relating  to  Amen,  or  Amen-Ra,  which  appear  to 

1  Op.  cit.,  Pl.  20,  No.  1. 


FORMS    OF   AMEN-RA  19 

belong  to  the  same  period,  and  as  they  illustrate  the  growth  of  a 
set  of  new  ideas  about  the  god  Amen,  some  of  them  being  probably 
of  Nubian  origin,  they  are  reproduced  here.  The  first  is  found 
in  the  Rubric  to  Chapter  clxii.  which  contains  the  texts  to  be 
recited  over  the  amulet  of  the  cow,  and  was  composed  with  the 
view  of  keeping  heat  in  the  body  of  the  deceased  in  the  Under- 
world. The  first  address  is  made  to  the  god  PAR,  AK  -£s&  Jn , 
which  is  clearly  a  form  of  Amen-Ra,  for  he  is  called  "  lord  of  the 

phallus,"    ^zy  ?\    0fef|C==a'    "lofty   of  plumes,"    "lord   of 

transformations,   whose   skins    (i.e.,  complexions)  are   manifold," 
*^^  (1 <       ^v  fev     CDL  ,  the  "  god  of  many  names," 

I      ^      III      1    A/WWV    _B^_B^     III'  °  J  ' 


"  the  mighty  runner  of  mighty  strides,"  etc.  The  second  address 
is  to  the  Cow  Ahat,    >\  \T\  \\  ^^hm,  i.e.,  the  goddess  Meh-urt 

or  Net,  who  made  a  picture  of  herself  and  placed  it  under  the 
head  of  Ra  when  he  was  setting  one  evening,  and  is  the  petition 
which  is  to  be  said  when  a  similar  amulet  is  placed  under  the 
head  of  the  deceased,  and  runs.  "  0  Amen,  0  Amen,  who  art  in 
"  heaven,  turn  thy  face  upon  the  dead  body  of  thy  son,  and  make 
"  him  sound  and  strong  in  the  Underworld." 

In  Chapter  clxiii.  we  have  the  second  passage  as  follows  : — 
"  Hail,  Amen,  thou  divine  Bull  Scarab  (  ^J  §-->  &  "^L,  $\  ? 

"  thou  lord  of  the  two  TJtchats,  thy  name  is  Hes-Tchefetch 
"  (?  V  fl^^s-  ^  '^T)  Jn,  the  Osiris  (i.e.,  the  deceased)  is  the 
"  emanation  of  thy  two  TJtchats,  one  of  which  is  called  Share- 
"  sharekhet     (jjjjj  *>\  <~=>  T1T1T  "%\  ^7^      cfl)  j     anc^    tne    other 

"  Shapdneterarika  (JM,  ^  □  ^  ^  ^  ^  V  ^) '"  The  ma£ical 
name  of  the  deceased  is  "  Shaka-Amen-Shakanasa  er  hatu  Tern 
sehetch-nef-taui,"  x  and  on  his  behalf  the  following  prayer  is 
made : — "  Grant  that  he  may  be  of  the  land  of  Maat,  let  him  not 
"  be  left  in  his  condition  of  solitude,  for  he  belongeth  to  this  land 

UJ    a  =  J   T.T.T  ^    ^  %  ~~  ^  £   <=» 


raV^»^kl*I^ 


20  FORMS   OF   AMEN-RA 

"wherein  he  will  no  more  appear,  and  'An'  (?)  (  £s\  is  his 
"  name.  0  let  him  be  a  perfect  spirit,  or  (as  others  say)  a  strong 
"  spirit,  and  let  him  be  the  soul  of  the  mighty  body  which  is  in 
"  Sau  (Sais),  the  city  of  Net  (Neith)." 

The  third  passage  is  Chapter  clxv.,  which  is  really  a  petition 
to  Amen-Ra  by  the  deceased  wherein  the  most  powerful  of  the 
magical  names  of  the  god  are  enumerated.  The  vignette  of  the 
chapter  contains  the  figure  of  an  ithyphallic  god  with  the  body  of 
a  beetle  ;  on  his  head  are  the  characteristic  plumes  of  Amen,  and 
his  right  arm  is  raised  like  that  of  Amsu,  or  Min,  the  god  of  the 
reproductive   powers   of  nature.      The   text   reads,   "  Hail,    thou 

"  Bekhennq  (J  ^  0  v\  T) ,  Bekhennu  !  Hail,  Prince,  Prince  ! 
"  Hail  Amen,  Hail  Amen!  Hail  Par,  Hail  Iukasa  C^K  1^  j£=&  Jn 
"  (m  v\  ^=^>  *<k\  tpj !  Hail  God,  Prince  of  the  gods  of  the  eastern 
"  parts  of  heaven,  Amen-Nathekerethi- Amen  (f\  Jn  /WWVN  ^,  fl 
"  ^^  I  ft! fl Q  0^1  0  Jn)  •  Hail,  thou  whose  skin  is  hidden,  whose 
"  form  is  secret,  thou  lord  of  the  two  horns  [who  wast  born  of] 
"Nut,   thy   name   is    Na-ari-k    ("^   -az>-  M  ^^>,    or   Ka-ari-k, 

z=x) ,  and  Kasaika  (^  ^  ^  I  (j(j  ^=* ^  J), 


"is   thy   name.     Thy   name    is   Arethi-kasathi-ka    (~K\  |  Oil 

"  ^z^s  "vx  &  I  ji  \m  ^z^>  <|\  J"n ,  and  thy  name  is  Amen-naiu-an- 

(rv       minim           o.                                 ^1                               4           V         4          ^VVW 
fl1^  j  — .^k 1 1  u  o 
1  aaaaaa  i t  rr\^   I     ill        I        v ' 


I 
"  or     Thekshare  -  Amen  -  Rerethi,    )  ^*  LM  1\  <=>  J  (1  e=a 

"  <?*^  ll  QQ  w)  '  Hail,  Amen,  let  me  make  supplication  unto  thee, 
"  for  I  know  thy  name,  and  [the  mention  of]  thy  transformations 
"  is  in  my  mouth,  and  thy  skin  is  before  mine  eyes.  Come,  I  pray 
"  thee,  and  place  thou  thine  heir  and  thine  image,  myself,  in  the 
"  everlasting  underworld.  Grant  thou  that  all  my  members  may 
"  repose  in  Neter-khertet  (the  underworld),  or  (as  others  say) 
"  in  Akertet  (the  underworld)  ;  let  my  whole  body  become  like 
"  unto  that  of  a  god,  let  me  escape  from  the  evil  chamber  and  let 
"  me  not  be  imprisoned  therein  ;  for  I  worship  thy  name.     Thou 


NAMES   OF   AMEN  21 

"  hast  made  for  me  a  skin,  and  thou  hast  understood  [my]  speech, 
"and  thou  knowest  it   exceedingly  well.     Hidden  (n         R§  fl) 

"  is  thy  name,  0  Letasashaka  (  *  skiY  T?^T  "%^  ^^  "%^  M), 
"  and  I  have  made  for  thee  a  skin.  Thy  name  is  Ba-ire-qai 
"  (VI  WT  *\  11  &)>  %-meisMarqatha  (-^"^ 
"  Ih^))'  *n^  name  is  Rerei  (  'QQw))>  *ny  name  is  Nasa- 
"  qebubu  (^  ^^J^>JJ^>^j)>  thJ  name  is  Thanasa- 
"  Thanasa    (  \  (1  ^aaa  IK   to1  _j|  ©V    thy   name    is    Sharshathakatha 

"  0  Amen,  0  Amen,  0  God,  0  God,  0  Amen,  I  adore  thy 
"  name,  grant  thou  to  me  that  I  may  understand  thee ;  grant 
"  thou  that  I  may  have  peace  in  the  Tuat  (underworld),  and  that 
"  I  may  possess  all  my  members  therein."  And  the  divine  Soul 
which  is  in  Nut  saith,  "  I  will  make  my  divine  strength  to  protect 
"  thee,  and  I  will  perform  everything  which  thou  hast  said." 
This  interesting  text  was  ordered  to  be  recited  over  a  figure  of  the 
"  god  of  the  lifted  hand,"  i.e.,  of  Amen  in  his  character  of  the  god 
of  generation  and  reproduction,  painted  blue,  and  the  knowledge 

of  it  was  to  be  kept  from  the  god  Sukati  (m  \\  Z5  *fes.  ^TT^  fli]  Jn) , 

in  the  Tuat ;  if  the  directions  given  in  the  rubric  were  properly 
carried  out  it  would  enable  the  deceased  to  drink  water  in  the 
underworld  from  the  deepest  and  purest  part  of  the  celestial 
stream,  and  he  would  become  "  like  the  stars  in  the  heavens 
above." 

A  perusal  of  the  above  composition  shows  that  we  are  dealing 
with  a  class  of  ideas  concerning  Amen,  or  Amen-Ra,  which,  though 
clearly  based  on  ancient  Egyptian  beliefs,  are  peculiar  to  the 
small  group  of  Chapters  which  are  found  at  the  end  of  the  Sai'te 
Recension  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead.  The  forms  of  the  magical 
names  of  Amen  are  not  Egyptian,  and  they  appear  to  indicate, 
as  the  late  Dr.  Birch  said,  a  Nubian  origin.  The  fact  that  the 
Chapters  with  the  above  prayers  in  them  are  found  in  a  papyrus 
containing  so  complete  a  copy  of  the  Sai'te  Recension  proves  that 


22  AMEN   WORSHIP 

they  were  held  to  be  of  considerable  importance  in  the  Ptolemaic 
period,  and  they  probably  represented  beliefs  which  were  wide- 
spread at  that  time.  Long  before  that,  however,  Amen-Ra  was 
identified  with  Horus  in  all  his  forms,  and  Ra  in  all  his  forms,  and 
Osiris  in  all  his  forms,  and  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  these  gods 
were  declared  to  be  his ;  he  was  also  made  to  be  the  male 
counterpart  of  all  the  very  ancient  goddesses  of  the  South  and  the 
North,  and  the  paternity  of  their  offspring  was  attributed  to  him. 

From  what  has  been  said  above  it  is  evident  that  the  worship 
of  Amen-Ra  spread  through  all  the  country  both  to  the  north  and 
south  of  Thebes,  and  the  monuments  prove  that  it  made  its  way 
into  all  the  dominions  of  Egypt  in  Syria,  and  in  Nubia,  and  in  the 
Oases.  In  Upper  Egypt  its  centres  were  Thebes,  Hermonthis, 
Coptos,  Panopolis,  Cusae,  Hermopolis  Magna,  and  Herakleopolis 
Magna ;  in  Lower  Egypt  they  were  Memphis,  Sais,  Xoi's,  Metelis, 
Heliopolis,  Babylon,  Mendes,  Thmuis,  Diospolis,  Butus,  and  the 
Island  of  Khemmis ;   in  the  Libyan  desert  the  Oases  of  Kenemet, 

aaaaaa  (i.e.,  the  Oasis  of  the  South,  or  Al-Khargeh),  Tchestcheset, 

n-=*|  n"=,j         ^  ^  (i.e.,  Oasis  Minor,  or  Dakhel),  Ta-ahet,  =s==»  (1  fi  ^ 

(i.e.,  Farafra),  and  the  great  Oasis  of  Jupiter  Ammon ;  in  Nubia, 
Wadi  SabiVa,  Abu  Simbel,  Napata,  and  Meroe ;  and  in  Syria  at 
several  places  which  were  called  Diospolis. 

The  worship  of  Amen-Ra  was  introduced  into  Nubia  by  its 
Egyptian  conquerors  early  in  the  XHth  Dynasty,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  that  country  embraced  it  with  remarkable  fervour ; 
the  hold  which  it  had  gained  upon'^them  was  much  strengthened 
when  an  Egyptian  viceroy,  who  bore  the  title  of  "  royal  son  of 
Cush,"  was  appointed  to  rule  over  the  land,  and  no  efforts  were 
spared  to  make  Napata  a  second  Thebes.  The  Nubians  were 
from  the  poverty  of  their  country  unable  to  imitate  the  massive 
temples  of  Karnak  and  Luxor,  and  the  festivals  which  they 
celebrated  in  honour  of  the  Nubian  Amen-Ra,  and  the  processions 
which  they  made  in  his  honour,  lacked  the  splendour  and 
magnificence  of  the  Theban  capital;  still,  there  is  no  doubt 
that,  considering  the  means  which  they  had  at  their  disposal,  they 
erected  temples  for  the  worship  of  Amen-Ra  of  very  considerable 


MENTHU  23 

size  and  solidity.  The  hold  which  the  priesthood  of  Amen-Ra  of 
Thebes  had  upon  the  Nubians  was  very  great,  for  in  the  troublous 
times  which  followed  after  the  collapse  of  their  power  as  priest- 
kings  of  Egypt,  the  remnant  of  the  great  brotherhood  made  its 
way  to  Napata,  and  settling  down  there  made  plans  and  schemes 
for  the  restoration  of  their  rule  in  Egypt ;  fortunately  for  Egypt 
their  designs  were  never  realized.  In  Syria  also  the  cult  of 
Amen-Ra  was  introduced  by  the  Egyptians  under  the  XVIIIth 
Dynasty,  a  fact  which  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  the  Tell 
el-'Amarna  tablets.     Thus  in  a  letter  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 

city  of  Tunep,1  ^  v\  □  ,  to  the  king  of  Egypt  (i.e.,  Amen- 
hetep  III.  or  his  son  Amen-hetep  IV.)  the  writers  remind  him 
that  the  gods  worshipped  in  the  city  of  Tunep  are  the  same  as 
those  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  form  of  the  worship  is  the  same. 
From  an  inscription 2  of  Thothmes  III.  at  Karnak  we  know  that  in 
the  29th  year  of  his  reign  this  king  offered  up  sacrifices  to  his 
gods  at  Tunep,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  worship  of  Amen-Ra  in 
Northern  Syria  dates  from  this  time.  On  the  other  hand  Akizzi, 
the  governor  of  Katna,  in  writing  to  inform  Amen-hetep  III.  that 
the  king  of  the  Khatti  had  seized  and  carried  off  the  image  of  the 
Sun-god,  begs  that  the  king  of  Egypt  will  send  him  sufficient 
gold  to  ransom  the  image,  and  he  does  so  chiefly  on  the  grounds 
that  in  ancient  days  the  kings  of  Egypt  adopted  the  worship  of 
the  Sun-god,  presumably  from  the  Syrians,  and  that  they  called 
themselves  after  the  name  of  the  god.  To  emphasize  his  appeal 
Akizzi  addresses  Amen-hetep  III.  as  the  "  son  of  the  Sun-god,"  a 
fact  which  proves  that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  the 

title  "  sa  Ra,"  i.e.,  "  son  of  Ra,"  \^,  which  every  Egyptian  king 

bore  from  the  time  of  the  Vth  Dynasty  onwards.     This  evidence 
supports  an  old  tradition  to  the  effect  that  the  Heliopolitan  form  of 
the  worship  of  the  Sun-god  was  derived  from  Heliopolis  in  Syria. 
In  connexion  with  Amen-Ra  must  be  mentioned  an  important 

form  of  the   Sun-god  which  was  called  Menthu,  s=>  v\  3 , 

AAAAAA  "       i — 1 

1  See  The  Tell  el-lAmarna  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum,  pp.  lxv.,  lxxi. 

2  Mariette,  Karnak,  pi.  13,  1.  2. 


24 

or  Menthu-Ra 


MENTHU-RA 


=»  \\  JH  Q  J;  though  he  was  commonly 

/vww\  -  /l      i— i      ■*■     —  'I  -i— -t 

described  as  "  lord  of  Thebes,"  the  chief  seat  of  his  worship  was  at 
Hermonthis,  the  Annu-Rest,  HlStk^  i-e-j  "  Heliopolis  of  the 
South,"  of  the  hieroglyphic  texts.  Menthu  was  probably  an  old 
local    god   whose   cult   was    sufficiently   important    to    make    it 


Menthu  giving  "life"  to  Ptolemy  Alexander. 

necessary  for  the  priests  of  Amen  to  incorporate  him  with  the 
great  god  of  Thebes,  and  he  appears  to  have  been  a  personification 
of  the  destructive  heat  of  the  sun.  The  chief  centres  of  his 
worship  were  Annu  of  the  South,  Thebes,  Annu  of  the  North, 
Tchertet,   <5>^^  (Edfu),  Dendera,  and  perhaps  the  temples  of 


MENTHU.    Lord    of    Thebes. 


MENTHU-RA  25 

the  First  Cataract,  and  his  commonest  titles  are,  "  Menthu-Ra,  lord 
"  of  Thebes,  King  of  the  gods,  he  who  is  on  his  throne  in  Aptet, 
11  Merti,  mighty  one  of  two-fold  strength,  lord  of  Thebes  of  the 
"  North,  Sma-taui,  Governor  of  Behutet,  lord  of  Annu  of  the  South, 
"  prince  of  Annu  of  the  North,"1  and  "lord  of  Manu,"  i.e.,  the  Libyan 
mountain.2  Menthu  is  mentioned  in  the  Pyramid  Texts  (Mer-en- 
Ra,  line  784),  together  with  a  number  of  ancient  gods,  in  such  a 
way  that  we  may  be  certain  that  his  worship  was  widespread, 

even  in  the  Vlth  Dynasty.     Thus  Khepera  ®  £5  <==> ,  and  Nu, 
"\^j&,   and  Tern,  and   Uash,  *£]  cs=>,  the  son  of  Seb,  and 

Sekhem,  the  son  of  Osiris,  I  Y  ®  \j^,  "n^  JJ  >  are  entreated  to 
hearken  to  the  words  which  the  dead  king  is  about  to  address  to 
them.  Nekhebet  of  the  Temple  of  Sar,  fj  M  <=> ,  in  Heliopolis  is 
said  to  protect  him,  he  is  identified  with  the  star  Apsh, 
[ '  J  *  \/  ,,  >  an(i  the  gods  who  traverse  the  land  of  the 
Thehennu,  A/®A  ^^  *^\  =s?= )  °  ,  and  who  live  on  the  "  in- 
destructible heavens,"  111  /ww*  ©  £3  *|k   (j  e  ^  ju  ^  [I  ^*, 

are  besought  to  allow  him  to  be  with  them. 

Five  obscure  gods  are  next  mentioned,  i.e.,  Tchent,  «~^  df, 


c^-s>  i 


Kher,  ®  I,  Shenthet,  e=s-is:  =>j  Khenu,  VpG,  and  Benutch, 

<- >    V  A^/W\A  t=i  O 

J  0  ^} ,  and  then  it  is  said  that  "  Seb  hearkeneth  to  him,  Tern 

"  provideth  him  with  his  form,  Thoth  heareth  for  him  that  which 
"  is  in  the  books  of  the  gods,  Horus  openeth  out  a  path  for  him, 
"  Set  protecteth  him,  and  Mer-en-Ra  riseth  in  the  eastern  part  of 
11  heaven  even  as  doth  Ra.  He  hath  gone  forth  from  Pe  with  the 
"  spirits  of  Pe,  he  is  even  as  is  Horus  and  is  fortified  by  the  Great 


i 


w 

5  see  Lanzoue,  op.  cit.,  p.  294. 


firm  £24  &• 


000 


26  MENTHU-RA 

"  and  the  Little  Companies  of  the  gods.  He  riseth  in  the  con- 
"  dition  of  a  king,  he  entereth  into  heaven  like  Ap-uat,  he  hath 
"  received  the  White  Crown  and  the  Green  Crown  (|^^  J  ^  £/), 
"  his  club  is  with  him,  his  weapon  (or  sceptre)  ams  (*^\  t\  fl  K), 
"  is  in  his  grasp,  his  mother  is  Isis,  his  nurse  is  Nephthys,  and  the 
"cow  Sekhat-Heru  (PTl^0  l^^r$)  §ivetn  mm  muk.  Net 
"  is  behind  him,  Serqet  is  on  his  two  hands.  .  .  .  Let  him  pass, 
"  and  let  his  flesh  pass,  let  him  pass,  and  let  his  apparel  pass, 
"  for  he  hath  gone  forth  as  Menth  (aww  J&j,  he  hath  gone  down 
"  like   Ba    (\  fe*  JkA ,  and  he   hath  hunted   like   Ba-ashem-f  " 

(^s=  ^-,  1\  J©-  *^^)  •  Of  the  origin  and  early  history  of 
Menthu  nothing  is  known,  but  his  worship  must  have  been  very 
ancient  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  passage  quoted  above  from  the 
text  of  king  Mer-en-Rii,  for,  although  mentioned  with  the  two 
obscure  gods  Ba  and  Ba-ashem-f,  it  is  quite  clear  that  he  was  a 
great  god  and  that  the  deceased  hoped  to  resemble  him  in  the 
Underworld.  Menthu  is  twice  mentioned  in  the  Theban  Recen- 
sion of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  but  curiously  enough,  only  as  one  of 
a  number  of  gods.  Thus,  in  Chapter  cxl.  6,  together  with  Ra, 
Tern,  Uatchet,  Shu,  Seb,  Osiris,  Suti,  Horus,  Bah,  Ra-er-neheh, 
Tebuti,  Naam,  Tchetta,  Nut,  Isis,  Nephthys,  Hathor,  Nekht, 
Mert(?),  Maat,  Anpu,  and  Ta-mes-tchetta,  he  is  said  to  be  the 
"  soul  and  body  of  Ra,"  and  in  Chapter  clxxi.  his  name  occurs 
among  the  names  of  Tern,  Shu,  Tefnut,  Seb,  Nut,  Osiris,  Isis,  Set, 
Nephthys,  Heru-khuti,  Hathor,  Khepera,  Amen,  etc.,  who  are 
entreated  to  bestow  a  garment  of  purity  upon  the  deceased. 
Menthu  is  usually  depicted  in  the  form  of  a  man  with  the  head 
of  a  hawk,  whereon  he  wears  a  crown  formed  of  the  solar  disk  with 
the  uraeus  and  two  high  plumes ;  as  such  he  is  styled  "  lord  of 
Thebes." 

In  a  figure  reproduced  by  Lanzone  1  he  has  two  hawks'  heads, 
each  of  which  is  provided  with  the  solar  disk,  two  uraei,  and  two 
plumes ;  in  his  right  hand  Menthu  grasps  the  scimitar,  ^sh,  which 

1  Op.  cit.,  pi.  119,  No.  3. 


MENTHU-RA  27 

indicates  that  he  was  a  god  of  war.  Another  proof  of  his  warlike 
attributes  is  a  scene l  in  which  he  is  depicted,  with  a  long  spear 
having  a  bronze  or  iron  head,  in  the  act  of  spearing  a  foe,  whose 

hands  and  feet  are  tied  together.  In  the  city  of  Tchert,  -^  ^, 
Menthu  was  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  man  with  the  head  of 
a  bull,  but  instead  of  the  solar  disk  he  wears  on  his  head  the 
lunar  crescent  and  disk,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without 
plumes.  The  warlike  character  of  this  local  form  of  Menthu 
is  indicated  by  the  bow  and  arrows,  and  club,  and  knife  which  he 
holds  in  his  hands,  and  we  are  justified  in  assuming  that  he  was  a 
personification  of  the  fierce,  destroying  heat  of  the  sun  which 
warred  against  the  enemies  of  the  Sun-god,  and  smote  them  to  the 
death  with  his  burning  rays  which  were  like  fiery  spears  and 
darts.     In  the  narrative  of  the  battle  of  Kadesh  we  are  told  that 

Rameses  II.  "rose  up  as  Ra  riseth,  and  took  the  weapons  (flfifl) 
"  of  father  Menthu,"  and  that  when  he  saw  the  foe  before  him 
"  he  raged  at  them  like  Menthu,  lord  of  Thebes,  and  took  his 
"  weapons   in   his   hand,"    and    that    having    become   like    "  Bar 

(  J  <r=>  ^n  in  his  hour,"  he  leaped  into  his  chariot  and  drove 

headlong  into  the  battle,  wherein  he,  of  course,  gained  a  great 
victory.  Elsewhere  Menthu  is  often  styled  the  "  mighty  bull," 
and  it  is  possible  that  originally  this  god  was  nothing  but  a 
personification  of  the  strength  and  might  of  the  raging  bull  when 
fighting  a  foe,  and  that  his  worship  in  one  form  or  another  existed 
in  predynastic  times.  It  must,  in  any  case,  be  very  ancient, 
because  when  joined  to  Ra  his  name  comes  first  in  the  compound 
name  and  we  have  "Menthu-Ra"  instead  of  Ra-Menthu.  The 
pictures  of  the  god  reproduced  by  Lanzone  2  prove  that  the  god 
possessed  other  phases  which  are  not  at  present  well  understood. 
Thus  he  is  represented  standing  upright,  with  the  head  of  a  hawk, 
and  he  holds  in  the  right  hand  what  appears  to  be  an  ear  of  corn 
and  in  the  left  a  vase,  as  if  he  were  in  the  act  of  making  offerings. 
In  another  scene  the  god,  hawk-headed  and  wearing  the  solar 
disk  encircled  by  a  uraeus,  is  seated  on  a  throne  and  is  represented 

1  Op.  cit.,  pi.  120,  No.  4.  ■  Ibid.,  pi.  120. 


28  MUT 

in  the  act  of  embracing  a  young  Horus  god  who  wears  on  his  head 
the  solar  disk  with  plumes,  and  a  tight-fitting  cap  with  a  uraeus  in 
front  of  it,  and  who  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  throne  by  the  side  of 
the  god. 

The  principal  female  counterpart  of  Amen-Ra,  the  king  of  the 

gods,  in  the  New  Empire  was  Mut,  A\  ^  J] ,  whose  name  means 

"  Mother,"  and  in  all  her  attributes  we  see  that  she  was  regarded 
as  the  great  "  world  -mother,"  who  conceived  and  brought  forth 
whatsoever  exists.  The  pictures  of  the  goddess  usually  represent 
her  in  the  form  of  a  woman  wearing  on  her  head  the  united  crowns 
of  the  South  and  the  North,  and  holding  in  her  hands  the  papyrus 
sceptre  and  the  emblem  of  life.  Elsewhere  we  see  her  in  female 
form  standing  upright,  with  her  arms,  to  which  large  wings  are 
attached,  stretched  oat  full  length  at  right  angles  to  her  body;  at 
her  feet  is  the  feather  of  Maat.  She  wears  the  united  crowns,  as 
before  stated,  but  from  each  shoulder  there  projects  the  head  of  a 

vulture ;  one  vulture  wears  the  crown  of  the  North,  \f ,  and  the 

other  two  plumes,   m  ,*  though  sometimes  each  vulture  head  has 

upon  it  two  plumes,  which  are  probably  those  of  Shu  or  Amen-Ra. 
In  other  pictures  the  goddess  has  the  heads  of  a  woman  or  man,  a 
vulture,  and  a  lioness,  and  she  is  provided  with  a  phallus,  and  a 
pair  of  wings,  and  the  claws  of  a  lion  or  lioness.  In  the  vignette  of 
the  clxivth  Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  she  is  associated  with 
two  dwarfs,  each  of  whom  has  two  faces,  one  of  a  hawk  and  one  of 
a  man,  and  each  of  whom  has  an  arm  lifted  to  support  the  symbol 
of  the  god  Amsu  or  Min,  and  wears  upon  his  head  a  disk  and 
plumes.  In  the  text  which  accompanies  the  vignette,  though  the 
three-headed  goddess  is  distinctly  called  "Mut"  in  the  Rubric,  she 

is  addressed  as  "  Sekhet-Bast-Ra,"  $  J  %  ^  ^  3  ^3 ,  a  fact 
which  accounts  for  the  presence  of  the  phallus  and  the  male  head 
on  a  woman's  body,  and  proves  that  Mut  was  believed  to  possess 
both  the  male  and  female  attributes  of  reproduction. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  originally  obscure  god  Amen 
was,  chiefly  through  the  force  of  political  circumstances,  made  to 


1  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  136. 


The  Goddess  MUT,  the  Lady  of  Thebes 


FORMS   OF   MUT 


29 


usurp  the  attributes  and  powers  of  the  older  gods  of  Egypt,  aud 
we  can  see  by  such  figures  of  the  goddess  as  those  described  above 
that  Mut  was,  in  like  fashion,  identified  with  the  older  goddesses 
of  the  land  with  whom,  originally,  she  had  nothing  in  common. 
Thus  the  head  of  the  lioness  which  projects  from  one  shoulder 
indicates  that  she  was  identified  with  Sekhet  or  Bast,  and  the 
vulture  heads  prove  that  her  cult  was  grafted  on  to  that  of 
Nekhebet,  and  the  double  crowns  show  that  she  united  in  herself 
all  the  attributes  of  all  the  goddesses  of  the  South  and  North. 


Apet. 


Thus  we  find  her  name  united  with  the  names  of  other  goddesses, 
e.g.,  Mut-Temt,  Mut-Uatchet-Bast,  Mut-Sekhet-Bast-Menhit,  and 
among  her  aspects  she  included  those  of  Isis,  and  Iusaaset. 
Locally  she  usurped   the  position  of  Ament,  M  c~~i  °  J) ,  the  old 

female  counterpart  of  Amen  and  of  Apet,  (1  D  Q  J) ,  the  personifi- 
cation of  the  ancient  settlement  Apt,  from  which  is  derived  the 
name  "  Thebes "  (Ta-apt)  ;  she  was  also  identified  with  the 
goddess  of  Amentet,  i.e.,  Hathor  in  one  of  her  forms  as  lady  of  the 


30  FORMS    OF   MUT 

Underworld ;  and  with  the  primeval  goddess  Ament,  who  formed 
one  of  the  four  goddesses  of  the  company  of  the  gods  of  Hermo- 
polis,  which  was  adopted  in  its  entirety  by  the  priests  of  Amen 
for    their    gods ;    and    with    the    predynastic    goddess    Ta-urt, 

~!k  ^»Bi» or  ^PI'  1°^'  ^or'  ^PT'  fl°^);  and' in  short' 

with  every  goddess  who  could  in  any  way  be  regarded  as  a  "  mother- 
goddess."  The  centre  of  the  worship  of  Mut  was  the  quarter  of 
Thebes  which  was  called  Asher,  or  Ashrel,  or  Asnrelt,1  and  which 
probably  derived  its  name  from  the  large  sacred  lake  which  existed 

there ;  the  temple  of  the  goddess,  Q  A\  ^,  Het-Mut,  with  its 
sanctuary,  A\     TL  ,  was  situated  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 

great  temple  of  Amen-Ra.  From  the  inscriptions  which  have 
been  found  on  the  ruins  of  her  temple  we  find  that  she  was  styled 
"  Mut,  the  great  lady  of  Ashert,  the  lady  of  heaven,  the  queen  of  the 

gods,"  53  ^  ^  4«  =  J  ^  _  ^  |  T,  aad  that 
she   was   thought   to   have   existed  with   Nu   in   primeval    time, 

aaaaaa     pa  q 

AA/WSA    <k^v   J}^'. ""      •       She    was,    moreover,    called 


AAAAM       nnn    W\AA>\ 


a 


MAMA 


"  Mut,    who   giveth   birth,    but   was    herself  not   born    of    any," 

*V\  ffj  (I  ,_n_  fn  I      II.      Here   also  Ave    find   her   associated   with 

several  goddesses,3  and  referred  to  as  the  "  lady  of  the  life  of  the 

two  lands,"  T^37-¥-|T,  and  "lady  of  the  house  of  Ptah,  lady  of 

heaven,  queen  of  the  two  lands,"  etc. 

The  great  temple  of  Mut  at  Thebes  was  built  by  Amen-hetep 
III.,  about  B.C.  1450,  and  was  approached  from  the  temple  of 
Amen-Ra  by  an  avenue  of  sphinxes  ;  the   southern   half  of  the 

1  The    forms    of    the    name    given    by    Brugsch    (Diet.    Geog.,    p.    73)    are 


"*"*,       U         _         -S£=&   aa     >aa, 


SZ1     <=* 


2  Champollion,  Notices,  ii.,  p.  207. 


mnr.ss-? 


O       AAA-A     X      O 


TA-URT  (THOUERIS),   the  Associate   of  HATHOR. 


TEMPLE   OF   MUX  31 

building  overlooked  a  semi-circular  lake  on  which  the  sacred 
procession  of  boats  took  place,  and  at  intervals,  both  inside  and 
outside  the  outer  wall  of  the  temple  enclosure  were  placed  statues 
of  the  goddess  Mut,  in  the  form  of  Sekhet,  in  black  basalt. 
Another  famous  sanctuary  of  Mut  was    situated   in   the   city  of 

Pa-khen-Ament,   •£*<  (1  ^,  the   ITaxra/aowis  of  Ptolemy 


(iv.  5,  §  50),  and  the  capital  of  the  nome,    $LSl_®,  Sma-Behutet, 

the    Diospolites   of   Lower   Egypt.      This    city   was    also    called 

"Thebes   of  the  North,"  ^^@,  or  the  "City  of  the  North," 

^%  to  distinguish  it  from  Thebes,  the  great  city  of  Amen 

which  is  always  referred  to  as  the  "  City,"  par  excellence.  From 
the  Egyptian  word  nut,  "city,"  is  derived  the  Biblical  form  "No," 
and  the  "No  Amon"  of  Nahum  iii.  8,  which  "was  situate  among 
"  the  rivers,  that  had  the  waters  round  about  it,  whose  rampart 
"  was  the  sea,  and  her  wall  was  from  the  sea,"  can  hardly  be  any 
other  than  the  city  of  Amen  and  Mut  in  the  Delta.     Among  other 

shrines  of  Mut  must  be  mentioned  Bekhen,    J    ^    ^ ,  a  town  in 

the   Delta,    which   was   probably  situated  in    the    sixth  nome   of 


Lower   Egypt,    the    Khas,    rv/vo  24J-,  of  the  Egyptians,   and   the 

TPffF 

Gynaecopolites  of  the  Greeks.  Dr.  Brugsch  pointed  out  that  the 
deities  worshipped  at  Bekhen  were  "  the  Bull  Osiris,"  Amen-Ra, 
Mut,  and  Khensu,  and  he  considered x  it  probable  that  the  city  lay 

near  the  capital  of  the  nome  which  was  called  Khasut,   ^  11  "v\  ^, 

by  the  Egyptians  and  Xoi's  by  the  Greeks.     Another  shrine  of  Nut 

was  situated  at 'An,    Hr  ,  by  which  we  are  probably  to  under- 

stand  the  region  in  which  ' HpaxovnoK^,  or  Heroopolis,  lay.  The 
district  of  An,  ^according  to  Dr.  Brugsch,  formed  the  neutral 
border  between  the  South  and  the  North,  and  a  text  quoted  by 
him  concerning  it,  says,  "When  Horus  and  Set  were  dividing 
"the  country  they  took  up  their  places  one  on  one  side  of  the 
"  boundary  and  the  other  on  the  other,  and  they  agreed  that  the 

1  Diet.  Qeog.,  p.  202. 


32  MUT   AND   NU 

"  country  of  An  should  form  the  frontier  of  the  country  on  one 
"  side  of  it,  and  that  it  should  be  the  frontier  of  the  other  also."  x 

From  what  has  been  said  above  it  appears  that  Mut  was 
originally  the  female  counterpart  of  Nu,  and  that  she  was  one  of 
the  very  few  goddesses  of  whom  it  is  declared  that  she  was  "  never 
born,"  i.e.,  that  she  was  self-produced.  Her  association  with  Nu 
suggests  that  she  must  be  identified  with  or  partake  of  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  a  remarkable  goddess  who  is  mentioned 
in   the    Pyramid   Texts    (Unas,    line    181)   under    the    name   of 

ra  ,^\         /w\AAA  _ 

Mut,  ^\  v\  ZZXt ,  a  variant  spelling  of  which  is  Mauit,2 
f\    a a  \\  M  o  J).     Her  name   occurs   in  a  passage  in  which  a 

prayer  is  made  on  behalf  of  Unas  that  "  he  may  see,"  and  following 
is  the  petition,  "  0  Ra,  be  good  to  him  on  this  day  since  yester- 
"  day  "  (sic) ; 3  after  this  come  the  words,  "  Unas  hath  had  union 
"  with  the  goddess  Mut,4  Unas  hath  drawn  unto  himself  the  flame 
"  of  Isis,  Unas  hath  united  himself  to  the  lotus,"  etc.5  The  only 
mention  of  Mut  in  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead 
is  found  in  a  hymn  to  Osiris,6  which  forms  the  clxxxiiird  Chapter; 
the  deceased  is  made  to  say  to  the  god,  "  Thou  risest  up  like  an 
"  exalted  being  upon  thy  standard,  and  thy  beauties  exalt  the 
"  face  of  man  and  make  long  his  footstep[s].  I  have  given  unto 
"  thee  the  sovereignty  of  thy  father  Seb,  and  the  goddess  Mut,  thy 


D    a 


30X    =5? 

r-vv — i 

Did.  Geog.,  p.  118. 

3  Becueil  de  Travaux,  torn,  iii.,  p.  197,  note  1. 

±    nvwv\     pa  i—i  n  a$  — 

AAA/lM 


4  If  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^fl'^0"^11'1^^^^' 

Mdit,  are  the  same  goddess  as    A\  ^ ,  it  would  seem  that  her  name  was  read  as 
Mut,  under  the  Early  Empire. 

5 


Q*«£~(^k*s«M*LI(5D 


6  Papyrus  of  Hunefer,  Brit.  Mus.,  No.  9,901,  sheet  3. 


KHENSU  33 

M  mother,  who  gave  birth  to  the  gods,  brought  thee  forth  as  the 
"  first-born  of  five  gods,  and  created  thy  beauties  and  fashioned 
"  thy  members."  The  papyrus  which  contains  this  passage  was 
written  during  the  reign  of  Seti  I.,  about  B.C.  1370,  and  it  is 
evident  that  at  that  period  Mut  was  identified  with  Nut,  and  that 
she  was  made  to  be  the  female  counterpart  of  Seb. 

The  third  member  of  the  great  triad  of  Thebes  was  Khensu, 

1   vJ)  wno  was  declared  to  be  the  son  of  Amen-Ra  and  Mut, 

A/WWA      I      —21       i — ' 

and  who  was  worshipped  with  great  honour  at  Thebes.  According 
to  Dr.  Brugsch,1  the  name  "  Khensu "  is  derived  from  the  root 

khens,    ®   M-A,  "to  travel,  to  move  about,  to  run,"  and  the  like, 

/WW\A    ' 

and  Signor  Lanzone 3  renders  the  name  by  "  il  fugatore,  il  per- 
secutor "  ;  for  both  groups  of  meanings  there  is  authority  in  the 
texts,  but  the  translations  proposed  by  the  former  scholar  represent 
the  commonest  meaning  of  the  word.  Khensu  was,  in  fact,  the 
"traveller,"  and  as  he  was  a  form  of  Thoth  and  was  identified  by 
the  Thebans  with  the  Moon-god  the  epithet  was  appropriate.  As 
far  back  as  the  time  of  Unas  the  motion  of  Thoth  as  the  Moon-god 
in  the  sky  was  indicated  by  the  word  Jchens,  for  in  line  194  we 
read,  "  Unas  goeth  round  about  heaven  like  Ra,  and  travelleth 
"  through  heaven  like  Thoth." 3  In  the  passage  of  the  text  of  the 
same  king  (line  510)  which  describes  how  he  hunted,  and  killed, 
and   ate   the   gods,  mention  is  made   of  the   god   "  Khensu   the 

slaughterer,"    ^     V    ^cs  I'oj,  who  "cut  their  throats  for 

"  the  king,  and  drew  out  their  intestines  for  him,"  and  he  is 
described  as  the  " messenger  whom  he  sent  out  to  meet  them."4 
Khensu  the  slaughterer  and  the  messenger  can,  then,  be  no  other 
than  Khensu  the  Moon-god  of  later  times,  and  thus  we  see  that, 
under  the  Early  Empire,  Khensu  occupied  a  very  important 
position  in  the  mythology  of  the  period  as  the  "  messenger  "  of  the 
great  gods,  and  the  "traveller"  who  journeyed  through  the  sky 

i  Religion,  p.  359.  2  Op.  cit.,  p.  973. 

II — D 


34  WORSHIP   OF   KHENSU 

under  the  form  of  the  moon.  We  have  already  referred  to  the 
great  antiquity  of  the  section  of  the  text  of  Unas  in  which  the 
hunting  of  the  gods  by  the  king  is  described,  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  existence  of  Khensu  was  formulated  in 
the  minds  of  the  Egyptians  in  very  primitive  times,  and  that  his 
name  is  older  than  the  dynastic  period.     We  may  note  in  passing 

that  the  other  gods  mentioned  in  the  section  are  Aker,  "v\    _     I , 

Tern,  and  Seb,  all  of  whom  are  well  known  from  texts  of  the 
dynastic  period,  and  Tcheser-tep-f,  Her-Thertu,  and  Sheshemu,1 
who  assist  in  marking,  and  snaring,  and  cutting  up  the  gods. 
Among  certain  ancient  Oriental  nations  the  worship  of  the  Moon 
always  preceded  that  of  the  Sun,  and  there  is  reason  for  thinking 
that  several  of  the  oldest  gods  of  Egypt  were  forms  of  the  Moon  in 
her  various  phases.  In  the  theological  system  which  the  priests  of 
Heliopolis  succeeded  in  imposing  upon  the  country  some  of  these 
were  preserved  either  by  identification  with  the  gods  of  the  new 
scheme  or  by  adoption,  and  comparatively  fixed  attributes  were 
assigned  to  them.  At  a  still  later  period,  when  the  cult  of  Amen 
and  Amen-Ra  was  common  throughout  the  country,  a  further 
selection  from  the  old  gods  was  made,  and  some  gods  had  positions 
apportioned  to  them  in  the  company  of  the  gods  of  Amen-Ra  at 
Thebes.  The  priesthood  of  that  city  showed  great  astuteness  in 
making  Khensu,  one  of  the  most  ancient  forms  of  the  Moon-god,  to 
be  the  son  of  Amen-Ra,  and  in  identifying  him  with  the  sons  of 
the  great  cosmic  gods  Horus  and  Ra. 

The  chief  centre  of  the  worship  of  Khensu  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  dynastic   period  was   Thebes,  where    Rameses  III.   built   the 

famous  "House  of  Khensu  in  Thebes,"  ^   •   \\*]  ^  f  ©, 

or  "House  of  Khensu  in  Thebes,  Nefer-hetep,"  C=~~=1  ~*»*    ®    1   t\ 

T  ©  A  C  n*  ^"s  ^e  Srea*  deity  of  his  temple  he  was  styled 
"  great  god,  lord  of  heaven,"  "  Khensu  in  Thebes,  (surnamed) 
"  Nefer-hetep,  Horus,  lord  of  joy  of  heart  in  the  Apts,"  and  the  texts 
show  that  shrines  were  built  in  his  honour  at  Bekhent,     J)    ®    ^ 

«£_)     /VW\AA     V9   } 


KHENSU    in    Thebes,    Nefer-Hetep. 


WORSHIP   OF   KHENSU  35 


in   the    Delta  (?),    at    Shentu,      9    «»%©,    at   Nubit, 
(Ombos),  at  Behutet,  ^  (Edfu),  at  Sma-Behutet,  "T  <=^>,  and 

at  Khemennu  (Hermopolis).  In  the  last-named  place  he  was  called 
"  Khensu-Tehuti,  the  twice  great,  the  lord  of  Khemennu," 1  a  fact 
which  proves  that  in  the  late  dynastic  times  he  was  wholly 
identified  with  Thoth ;  as  Khensu-Tehuti  he  was  also  worshipped 
at  Behutet,  or  Edfu.     In  Thebes  his  name  was  united  with  that  of 

Rfi  and  of  Shu,  and  we  find  such  forms  as  Khensu-Ra,  ®  1  ^ , 
and  Khensu-Shu,    ®    I  U  @   | .     The  great  temple  of  Khensu  at 

/WW\A      I         I 

Thebes  appears  to  have  contained  three  shrines,  which  probably 
corresponded  to  three  aspects  of  the  god,  and  we  thus  have: — 
1.  The  Temple  of  Khensu.  2.  The  Temple  of  Khensu  in  Thebes, 
Nefer-lietep.     3.  The  Temple  of  Khensu,  who  worketh  [his]  plans  in 

Thebes> ^i\\ %l - pxi k i ;•* The for- °f 

the  god  Khensu-pa-khart,  JJ^  ^  %  D  Jl)^,  i.e.,  "Khensu  the 
Babe,"  and  Khensu-Hunnu,  ®^  ^  {f%$>  le->  "  Khensu  the 
Child,"  were  probably  worshipped  in  the  main  portion  of  the 
temple,  for  they  were  purely  forms  of  the  Moon-god,  and  they 
bore  the  same  relation  to  him  that  Heru-pa-khart  (Harpocrates) 
and  H  era- Hunnu  bore  to  Horns  the  Great  or  to  Rii. 

From  a  series  of  extracts  quoted  by  Dr.  Brugsch  3  from  the 
inscriptions  on  the  temple  of  Khensu  at  Thebes  we  find  that  he  was 
the  "lord  of  Maat,"  like  Ptah,  and  the  "  moon  by  night  "  ;  as  the 
new  moon  he  is  likened  to  a  mighty,  or  fiery  bull,  and  as  the  full 
moon  he  is  said  to  resemble  an  emasculated  bull.  As  Khensu-pa- 
khart  he  caused  to  shine  upon  the  earth  the  beautiful  light  of  the 
crescent  moon,  and  through  his  agency  women  conceived,  cattle 
became  fertile,  the  germ  grew  in  the  egg,  and  all  nostrils  and 
throats  were  filled  with  fresh  air.  He  was  the  second  great  light 
in  the  heavens,  and  was  the  "first  great  [son]  of  Amen,  the 
"  beautiful  youth,  who  maketh  himself  young  in  Thebes  in  the 

1  ®  1  Jt  |=|  EEo®. 

2  Brugsch,  Did.  Geog.,  p.  600.  3  Religion,  p.  360  f. 


36  KHENSU   NEFER-HETEP 


"  form  of  Ra,  the  son  of  the  goddess  Nubit,  ryi  (|(|  ^J,  a  child  in 
"  the  morning,  an  old  man  in  the  evening,  a  youth  at  the  beginning 
"  of  the  year,  who  cometh  as  a  child  after  he  had  become  infirm, 
"and  who  reneweth  his  births  like  the  Disk."1  From  this 
passage  it  appears  that  Khensu-pa-khart  was  both  the  spring 
sun,  and  the  spring  moon,  and  also  the  moon  at  the  beginning  of 
each  month,  in  fact,  the  symbol  of  the  renewed  light  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  and  the  source  of  generation  and  reproduction.  In 
these  aspects  he  was  readily  identified  with  many  forms  of  the 
young  Sun-god,  whether  Horus  or  Ra,  and  with  some  of  the  gods 
of  reproduction,  e.g.,  Amsu,  or  Min.  As  a  Horus  god  he  became 
the  son  of  Osiris,  the  "  Bull  of  Amentet,"  and  of  one  of  the  forms  of 

Isis,  and  as  the  "  Bull  of  his  mother,"    *-*   ^^  AN      *-=—,  he  was 


identified  with  Amsu-Ra,  =s^=  - — a  Jn ,  and  was  regarded   as   the 

brother  of  the  Bull  Osiris.  As  Dr.  Brugsch  pointed  out,2  the 
"  two  Bulls  "  mentioned  in  texts  of  the  late  period  are  Osiris  and 
Khensu,  and  they  represent  the  Sun  and  the  Moon. 

The  forms  in  which  Khensu  is  depicted  on  the  monuments  are 
of  considerable  interest,  and  may  be  thus  described.  Whether 
standing  or  seated  on  a  throne  he  has  usually  the  body  of  a  man 
with  the  head  of  a  hawk ;  sometimes,  however,  his  head  also  is 
that  of  a  man.  He  wears  on  his  head  the  lunar  disk  in  a  crescent, 
O,  or  the  solar  disk  with  a  uraeus,  or  the  solar  disk  with  the 
plumes  and  a  uraeus.  As  u  Khensu  of  Behutet,  the  great  god, 
lord  of  heaven,"   he  is  seen  seated  on   a  throne   and  holding  in 

his  hands  1  and  ■¥•.     As  Khensu  Nefer-hetep  he  appears  on  the 

stele  of  Pai,  J^  <g\   (1(1  ^j ,  in  the  form  of  a  mummied  man  seated 

on  a  throne ; 3  over  his  forehead  is  the  uraeus  of  royalty  and  by 
the  side  of  his  head  is  the  lock  of  youth.     Behind  his  neck  hangs 

the  mendt  (w  ,  and  below  his  chin  is  the  collar  which  is  usually 

worn  by  Hathor ;    in  his  hands  are  £\ ,    | ,   u ,  and  j .     On  the 

stele  behind  his  back  are  two  pairs  of  ears  and  two  pairs  of  eyes, 

1  Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  p.  511.  "  Religion,  p.  362. 

3  See  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  340. 


The    dual   God    KHENSU    standing    upon    Crocodiles. 


KHENSU   NEFER-HETEP  37 

S>  §>         §>  §>         ,  and  the  deceased  is  made  to  address  the  god  as 

"lord   of  the  gods,   Khensu-NEFER-HETEP-TEHUTi,   lord  of  Annu 

"  rest  (i.e.,  Annu  of  the  South),  chief  Mabi  (        J  M  Jn\ ,  peace, 

"  peace,  0  gracious  one,  who  art  at  peace,  and  who  lovest 
"  peace."     As  "  Khensu,  the  mighty,  who  cometh  forth  from  Nu," 

^^  sc^  he  is  provided  with  two  hawks'  heads,  one 

facing  to  the  right  and  the  other  to  the  left,  and  four  wings,  and 
he  stands  with  each  foot  upon  the  head  of  a  crocodile  ;  on  his 
heads  rest  the  lunar  crescent  and  disk.  In  this  form  he  represents 
both  the  sun  at  sunrise  and  the  new  moon,  and  the  two  crocodiles 
symbolize  the  two  great  powers  of  darkness  over  which  he  has 

triumphed.      As    "  Khensu,   the   chronographer,"     ®    1  £=.  J  ^ 

I  8  (i    H  y  ®«  he  wears  the  solar  disk  on  his  head  and 

holds  a  stylus  in  his  right  hand,  and  as  Khensu-Ra,    ®    1  V  T» 

/www    T    —11       I 

he  wears  the  crown,  /J . 

The  phase  of  Khensu  which  appears  to  have  been  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  the  Egyptians  was  that  which  was  deified 
under  the  name  of  Khensu  Nefer-hetep.  This  god  not  only  ruled 
the  month,  but  he  was  also  supposed  to  possess  absolute  power 
over  the  evil  spirits  which  infested  earth,  air,  sea,  and  sky,  and 
which  made  themselves  hostile  to  man  and  attacked  his  body  under 
the  forms  of  pains,  sicknesses,  and  diseases,  and  produced  decay, 
and  madness,  and  death.  He  it  was,  moreover,  who  made  plants 
to  grow,  and  fruit  to  ripen,  and  animals  to  conceive,  and  to  men 
and  women  he  was  the  god  of  love.  We  have  no  means  of  knowing 
what  views  the  Egyptians  held  concerning  the  influence  of  the 
moon  on  the  minds  of  human  beings  on  the  seventh,  fourteenth, 
and  twenty-first  day  of  its  age,  but  it  is  probable  that,  like  the 
Arabs,  they  assigned  to  it  different  and  special  powers  on  each  of 
these  days.  In  the  reign  of  Rameses  III.  a  large  temple  was  built 
at  Thebes  in  honour  of  the  Moon-god,  and  according  to  a  tradition 
which  his  priests  in  very  much  later  times  caused  to  be  inscribed 
upon  a  stone  stele,  the  fame  of  his  Theban  representative  was  so 
wide-spread  that  it  reached  to  a  remote  country  called  Bekhten, 
which  was  situated  at  a  distance  of  a  journey  of  seventeen  months 


38  PRINCESS    OF   BEKHTEN 

from  Egypt.1  According  to  this  tradition  a  king  of  Egypt, 
who  was  probably  Rameses  II.,  was   in   the  country  of  Nehern, 

HI    £££  0^4,  i.e.,  a  portion  of  Western  Syria  near  the  Euphrates, 

collecting  tribute  according  to  an  annual  custom,  when  the  "  prince 
of  Bekhten  "  came  with  the  other  chiefs  to  salute  his  majesty  and 
to  bring  a  gift.  The  other  chiefs  brought  gold,  and  lapis-lazuli, 
and  turquoise,  and  precious  woods,  but  the  prince  of  Bekhten 
brought  with  his  offerings  his  eldest  daughter,  who  was  exceed- 
ingly beautiful ;  the  king  accepted  the  maiden,  and  took  her  to 
Egypt,  where  he  made  her  the  chief  royal  wife  and  gave  her  the 

Egyptian  name  of  Ra-neferu  (©JJJjL  i-e->  the  "beauties  of  Ra," 
the  Sun-god. 

Some  time  after,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  the  king  of  Egypt,  the  prince  of  Bekhten  appeared  in 
Thebes  on  the  xxiind  day  of  the  second  month  of  summer,  and 
when  he  had  been  led  into  the  presence  he  laid  his  offerings  at  the 
feet  of  the  king,  and  did  homage  to  him.  As  soon  as  he  had  the 
opportunity  he  explained  the  object  of  his  visit  to  Egypt,  and  said 
that  he  had  come  on  behalf  of  the  young  sister  of  Queen  Ra-neferu, 
who  was   grievously  sick,    and   he   begged   the   king   to   send   a 

•      w  Cjj , 

or  Bent-enth-reshet,  J  V  <=>  n        ^^  C/J  Q .      Thereupon  the  king 

summoned  into  his  presence  all  the  learned  men  of  his  court, 
and  called  upon  them  to  choose  from  among  their  number  a  skilled 
physician  that  he  might  go  to  Bekhten  and  heal  the  Queen's  young 
sister ;  the  royal  scribe  Tehuti-em-heb  was  recommended  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  king  at  once  sent  him  off  with  the  envoy  from 
Bekhten  to  that  country.  In  due  course  he  arrived  there  and 
found  that  the  princess  of  Bekhten  was  under  the  influence  of 

1  See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  torn,  ii.,  tav.  48 ;  de  Rouge,  Journal 
Asiatique,  5e  serie,  torn,  viii.,  pp.  201-248;  x.,  pp.  112-168;  xi.,  pp.  509-572; 
xii.,  pp.  221-270 ;  and  my  Egyptian  Beading  Booh,  pp.  xxvii.  ff.  and  40  ft. 

2  The  meaning  of  this  name  appears  to  be  "  daughter  of  joy,"  or  "  daughter  of 
pleasure,"  resliet  being  a  well-known  word  for  pleasure,  joy,  and  the  like ;  the  first 
part  of  the  name  bent  must  represent  the  Semitic  word  bath,  J"I3,  "  daughter,"  from 

.run  =  run . 


NEFER-HETEP. 


PRINCESS    OF   BEKHTEN  39 

some  evil  spirit,  which  he  was  powerless  either  to  exorcise  or  to 
contend  with  in  any  way  successfully.  When  the  king  of  Bekhten 
saw  that  his  daughter  was  in  no  way  benefited  by  the  Egyptian 
scribe,  he  despatched  his  envoy  a  second  time  to  Egypt  with  the 
petition  that  the  king  would  send  a  god  to  heal  his  daughter,  and 
the  envoy  arrived  in  Thebes  at  the  time  when  the  king  was 
celebrating  the  festival  of  Amen. 

As  soon  as  the  kin<r  had  heard  what  was  wanted  he  went  into 
the  temple  of  Khensu  Nefer-hetep,  and  said  to  the  god,  "  0  my 
"  fair  Lord,  I  have  come  once  again  into  thy  presence  [to  entreat] 
"  thee  on  behalf  of  the  daughter  of  the  Prince  of  Bekhten  "  ;  and 
he  entreated  him  to  allow  the  god  Khensu  to  go  to  Bekhten,  and 
said,  "  Grant  that  thy  magical  (or,  saving)  power  may  go  with 
"  him,  and  let  me  send  his  divine  Majesty  into  Bekhten  to  deliver 
"  the  daughter  of  the  Prince  of  that  land  from  the  power  of  the 
"  demon."  The  king  of  Egypt,  of  course,  made  his  request  to  a 
statue  of  the  god  Khensu  Nefer-hetep,  and  the  text  of  the  stele 
affords  reason  for  believing  that  the  statue  was  provided  with  a 
moveable  head,  for  after  each  of  the  petitions  of  the  king  we  have 

the  words  hen  ur  sep  sen    '  U  ^r— a  ^*  ©  u,  which  mean  that  the 

god  "  nodded  firmly  twice  "  as  a  sign  of  his  assent  to  the  king's 
wishes.  The  head  of  the  statue  was  worked  by  some  mechanical 
contrivance  which  was  in  the  hands  of  the  priests,  and  there  is 
little  doubt  that  not  only  the  head,  but  also  the  arms  and  hands 
of  statues  of  the  gods  were  made  to  move  by  means  of  cords  or 
levers  that  were  under  the  control  of  the  high  priest  or  priest  in 
charge.  When  the  god  was  unwilling  to  grant  the  request  of  the 
suppliant  the  head  or  limbs  of  his  statue  remained  motionless.  In 
the  present  case  the  king  first  asked  Khensu-Nefer-hetep  to  send 
Khensu  to  Bekhten,  and  when  the  god  had  nodded  his  assent,  he 
further  asked  him  to  bestow  upon  Khensu  his  sa  <=mt°,  i.e.,  his 
magical,  or  divine,  or  saving  power. 

From  this  passage  we  learn  that  a  god  was  able  to  transfer 
his  power  to  work  wonders  from  himself  to  a  statue,  and  the  text 
tells  us  that  Khensu  Nefer-hetep  bestowed  upon  the  statue  of 
Khensu  which  was  to  go  to   Bekhten  a  fourfold   portion   of  his 


40  PRINCESS   OF   BEKHTEN 

/WWW  0?K  *\  **  -j--|.  1      . 

power  and  spirit,  ^s>-  ^  °mt°  **"*  w  1  Q  ^  II II-  Jlow  this 
was  done  is  not  stated,  but  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  the  statue  of 
Khensu  was  brought  near  that  of  Khensu  Nefer-hetep,  and  that 
the  hands  of  the  latter  were  made  to  move  and  to  rest  upon  the 
head  or  shoulders  of  the  former  four  times.  That  statues  of  gods 
were  made  to  move  their  arms  and  hands  on  special  occasions  is 
well  known,  and  in  proof  may  be  quoted  the  instance  given  in  the 
Stele  of  the  Nubian  prince  Nastasenen.  Before  this  prince  was 
crowned  king:,  we  are  told,  he  was  one  of  those  who  were  chosen 
by  the  priests  of  Amen,  the  great  god  of  Napata,  to  appear  in  the 
Temple  of  the  Holy  Mountain  in  order  that  their  god  might  tell 
them  which  was  to  be  king  of  those  of  the  royal  family  who 
were  claimants  of  the  throne  of  Nubia.  On  a  certain  day  all  the 
young  princes  assembled  in  the  chamber  wherein  was  the  statue 
of  the  god,  and  as  they  passed  before  it  the  arms  and  hands  of 
Amen-Ra  extended  themselves  and  took  hold  of  the  prince  whom 
the  god  had  chosen  to  be  his  representative  upon  the  throne  of 
Nubia,  and  he  was  forthwith  acclaimed  by  the  priests  and  generals 
of  the  soldiers,  and  in  due  course  his  coronation  took  place.  It 
would  be  idle  to  assume  that  statues  of  gods  with  moveable  heads 
and  limbs  were  employed  in  this  way  in  Nubia  only,  and  we  may 
be  quite  certain  that  the  Nubian  priests  of  Amen-Ra  merely 
followed  the  customs  connected  with  the  election  of  kings  which 
were  current  in  Egypt.  The  better  informed  among  the  people 
must  have  known  that  the  limbs  of  the  statue  were  moved  by 
mechanism  worked  by  the  priests,  but  the  ignorant,  who  believed 
that  the  doubles  of  the  gods  animated  their  statues,  would  assume 
that  it  was  they  who  moved  the  head  and  limbs  of  the  statues 
and  gave  them  a  voice  to  speak.1 

Returning  to  the  narrative  of  the  Stele  we  find  that  the  king 
of  Egypt  despatched  Khensu  to  Bekhten,  where  the  god  arrived 
after  a  journey  of  seventeen  months.  As  soon  as  he  had  been 
welcomed  to  the  country  by  the  Prince  of  Bekhten  and  his 
generals  and  nobles  the  god  went  to  the  place  where  the  princess 

1  Compare  also  Maspero,   Annuaire,  1897,   Paris,    1896,  pp.   15  fE. ;    and  Le 
Double  el  les  Statues  Prophetiques,  p.  88. 


PRINCESS    OF   BEKHTEN  41 

was,  and  he  found  that  Bent-reshet  was  possessed  of  an  evil  spirit ; 
but  as  soon  as  he  had  made  use  of  his  magical  power  the  demon 
left  her  and  she  was  healed  straightway.  Then  that  demon  spoke 
to  Khensu,  and  acknowledged  his  power,  and  having  tendered  to 
him  his  unqualified  submission  he  offered  to  return  to  his  own 
place;  but  he  begged  Khensu  to  ask  the  Prince  of  Bekhten  to 
make  a  feast  at  which  they  both  might  be  present,  and  he  did  so, 
and  the  god,  and  the  demon,  and  the  Prince  spent  a  very  happy 
day  together.  When  the  feast  was  concluded  the  demon  returned 
to  his  own  land,  which  he  loved,  according  to  his  promise.  As 
soon  as  the  Prince  recognized  the  power  of  Khensu  he  planned  to 
keep  him  in  Bekhten,  and  the  god  actually  tarried  there  for  three 
years,  four  months,  and  five  days,  but  at  length  he  departed 
from  his  shrine  and  returned  to  Egypt  in  the  form  of  a  hawk  of 
gold.  When  the  king  saw  what  had  happened,  he  spoke  to  the 
priest,  and  declared  to  him  his  determination  to  send  back  to 
Egypt  the  chariot  of  Khensu,  and  when  he  had  loaded  him  with 
gifts  and  offerings  of  every  kind  the  Egyptians  set  out  from 
Bekhten  and  made  the  journey  back  to  Thebes  in  safety.  On  his 
return  Khensu  took  all  the  gifts  which  had  been  given  to  him  by 
the  Prince  of  Bekhten,  and  carried  them  to  the  temple  of  Khensu 
Nefer-hetep,  where  he  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  the  god.  Such  is 
the  story  which  the  priests  of  Khensu  under  the  New  Empire  were 
wont  to  relate  concerning  their  god  "  who  could  perform  mighty 
"  deeds  and  miracles,  and  vanquish  the  demons  of  darkness."  * 


p^nxtf-xift- 


(     42     ) 


CHAPTER   II 

HAP     § — °T=r     OR   HAPI     8 — °^^ 
THE   GOD   OF   THE   NILE 

IT  has  already  been  said  above  that  the  god  Osiris  was  probably 
in  predynastic  times  a  river-god,  or  a  water-god,  and  that  in 
course  of  time  he  became  identified  with  Hap,  or  Hapi,  the  god  of 
the  Nile ;  when  such  an  identification  took  place  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing,  but  that  such  was  undoubtedly  the  case  is 
apparent  from  large  numbers  of  passages  in  texts  of  all  periods. 
The  meaning  of  the  name  of  the  Nile-god  has  not  yet  been 
satisfactorily  explained,  and  the  derivation  proposed l  for  it  by  the 
priests  in  the  late  dynastic  period  in  no  way  helps  us ;  it  is  certain 
that  Hep,  later  Hap,  is  a  very  ancient  name  for  the  Nile  and 
Nile-god,  and  it  is  probably  the  name  which  was  given  to  the 
river  by  the  predynastic  inhabitants  of  Egypt.  One  of  the  oldest 
mentions  of  Hep  is  found  in  the  text  of  Unas2  (line  187),  where  it 

is  said,  "  Keep  watch,  0  messengers  of  Qa  (a  'v\  ^) ,  keep  watch, 
"  0  ye  who  have  lain  down,  wake  up,  0  ye  who  are  in  Kenset, 
"  0  ye  aged  ones,  thou  Great  Terror  ( y  ess  ^.  ^\  ^^ ,  Setaa- 
"  ue),  who  comest  forth  from  Hep,  thou  Ap-uat  (^Z^f^f),  who 
"  comest  forth  from  the  Asert  Tree  (J\  <==>  \^),  the  mouth  of  Unas 
"  is  pure."  It  is  important  to  note  that  Hep  is  mentioned  in 
connexion  with  Kenset,  ^^  ^  ;  now  Kenset  here  means  the 
first   nome  of  Egypt,  in  which  were  included  the  First  Cataract 

1  Hd-pu,  i.e.,  "this  is  the  body";  see  Brugsch,  Religion,  p.  638. 

2  See  Teta,  1.  65. 


If 


li 


THE    NILE    GOD  43 

and  its  Islands  Elephantine,  Sahel,  Philae,  Senmut,  etc.,  and  thus 
it  would  seem  as  if  the  Nile-god  Hep,  and  Ap-uat,  "  the  opener  of 
the  ways,"  were  even  in  the  Vth  Dynasty  connected  Avith  the 
places  in  which  in  later  times  the  Nile  was  thought  to  rise.  In 
the  lines  which  follow  the  extract  given  above  there  is  an  allusion 
to  the  food  which  Unas  is  to  eat  in  the  Underworld,  and  to  the 
Sekhet-Aaru,  or  Elysian  Fields,  where  he  is  to  live,  and  it  is  clear 
that  the  Nile-god  and  Ap-uat  were  exhorted  to  send  forth  the 
waters  of  the  river  from  Kenset  in  order  that  they  might  produce 
grain  for  the  needs  of  the  king.  In  another  passage  (Unas,  line  43 1 ) 
the  destroying  power  of  Hep  is  referred  to,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  houses  of  those  who  would  steal  away  the  king's  food  shall 

be  given  to  the  thieves  (?),  and  their  habitations  to  Great  Hep, 

a  ^  rp3   n  o     □ 

Hep,  or  Hapi,  is  always  depicted  in  the  form  of  a  man,  but 
his  breasts  are  those  of  a  woman,  and  they  are  intended  to  indicate 
the  powers  of  fertility  and  of  nourishment  possessed  by  the  god. 
As  the  Egyptians  divided  their  country  into  two  parts,  the  South 
and  the  North,  so  they  divided  the  river,  and  thus  there  came  into 
being  the  god  of  the  Nile  of  the  South  and  the  god  of  the  Nile  of 
the  North.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  that  the  Nile  of 
the  South  was  that  portion  of  the  river  which  flowed  from  the  Sudan 
to  Philae,  but  this  is  not  the  case,  for  the  Egyptians  believed  that 

the  Nile  rose  in  the  First  Cataract,  in  the  Qerti,  <=>        ,   or 

"  Double  Cavern,"  and  the  Nile  of  the  South  was  to  them  that 
portion  of  the  river  which  extended  from  Elephantine  to  a  place 
some  little  distance  north  of  the  modern  Asyiit.     The  god  of  the 

South    Nile   has    upon   his   head    a   cluster   of    lotus   plants, 

whilst  he  of  the  North  Nile  has  a  cluster  of  papyrus  plants 

the    former    is    called     H  ap-Reset,    |     d    ¥  ^ ,    and    the   latter 

Hap-Meht,  §     o    w  **.     When  the  two  forms  of  Hep  or  Hapi 

are  indicated  in  a  single  figure,  the  god  holds  in  his  hands  the  two 
plants,  papyrus  and  lotus,  or  two  vases,  from  which  he  was 
believed  to  pour  out  the  two  Niles.  By  a  pretty  device,  in  which 
the  two  Nile-gods  are  seen  tying  in  a  knot  the  stems  of  the  lotus 


44  THE   NILE    GOD 

and  papyrus  round  X,  the  emblem  of  union,  the  Egyptians 
symbolized  the  union  of  the  South  and  North,  and  a  slight 
modification  of  the  design,  £|L,  was  cut  upon  the  sides  of  the 
thrones  of  kings,  from  very  early  times,  to  indicate  that  the 
thrones  of  the  South  and  North  had  been  united,  and  that  the 
rule  of  the  sovereigns  who  sat  upon  such  thrones  extended  over 
Upper  and  Lower  Egypt.  When  once  Hapi  had  been  recognized 
as  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Egyptian  gods  he  became  rapidly 
identified  with  all  the  great  primeval,  creative  gods,  and  finally  he 
was  declared  to  be,  not  only  the  maker  of  the  universe,  but  the 
creator  of  everything  from  which  both  it  and  all  things  therein 
sprang.     At  a  very  early  period  he  absorbed  the  attributes  of  Nu, 

<w  ~n .  the  primeval  watery  mass  from  which  Ra,  the  Sun- 


god,  emerged  on  the  first  day  of  the  creation ;  and  as  a  natural 
result  he  was  held  to  be  the  father  of  all  beings  and  things,  which 
were  believed  to  be  the  results  of  his  handiwork  and  his  offspring. 
When  we  consider  the  great  importance  which  the  Nile  possessed 
for  Egypt  and  her  inhabitants  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the 
Nile-god  Hapi  held  a  unique  position  among  the  gods  of  the 
country,  and  how  he  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  being  as  great  as, 
if  not  greater  than  Ra  himself.  The  light  and  heat  of  Ra  brought 
life  to  all  men,  and  animals,  and  to  every  created  thing,  but 
without  the  waters  of  Hapi  every  living  being  would  perish. 

There  was,  moreover,  something  very  mysterious  about  Hapi, 
which  made  him  to  be  regarded  as  of  a  different  nature  from  Ra, 
for  whilst  the  movement  of  the  Sun-god  was  apparent  to  all  men, 
and  his  places  of  rising  and  setting  were  known  to  all  men,  the 
source  of  the  waters  of  the  Nile-god  was  unknown.  The  Egyp- 
tians, it  is  true,  at  one  period  of  their  history,  believed  that  the 
Nile  rose  out  of  the  ground  between  two  mountains !  which  lay 
between  the  Island  of  Elephantine  and  the  Island  of  Philae,  but 
they  had  no  exact  idea  where  and  how  the  Inundation  took  place, 

1  Herodotus  calls  these  mountains  Kpw<£i  and  Mw^i,  which  have,  by  some, 

j/]  Q  n  [       i  /www 
been   derived   from   Qer-Hapi,              ■=[]  Q    jj  n        £££,    and    Mu-Hapi,    ™~™ 
q  t=t 

AVAftA 
\\     /WWV\ 


THE   NILE   GOD  45 

and  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  river  were  undoubtedly  a  genuine 
mystery  to  them.  The  profound  reverence  and  adoration  which 
they  paid  to  the  Nile  are  well  expressed  in  the  following  extract 
from  a  hymn  to  the  Nile,  as  found  in  a  papyrus  of  the  XVIIIth 
or  XlXth  Dynasty,  it  reads: — "Homage  to  thee,  0  Hapi,  thou 
"  appearest  in  this  land,  and  thou  comest  in  peace  to  make  Egypt 
"  to  live.  Thou  art  the  Hidden  One,  and  the  guide  of  the  dark- 
"  ness  on  the  day  when  it  is  thy  pleasure  to  lead  the  same.  Thou 
"art  the  Waterer  (or  Fructifier)  of  the  fields  which  Ra  hath 
"  created,  thou  givest  life  unto  all  animals,  thou  makest  all  the 
"  land  to  drink  unceasingly  as  thou  descenclest  on  thy  way  from 
"  heaven.  Thou  art  the  friend  of  bread  and  of  Tchabu  (jSNj  1  @  J\ , 
"  i.e.,  the  god  of  drink),  thou  makest  to  increase  and  be  strong 
"Nepra  D  (1 1  |  jj,  i.e.,  the  god  of  corn),  thou  makest  pros- 
perous every  workshop,  0  Ptah,  thou  lord  of  fish;  when  the 
"  Inundation  riseth,  the  water-fowl  do  not  alight  upon  the  fields 
"  that  are  sown  with  wheat.  Thou  art  the  creator  of  barley,  and 
"  thou  makest  the  temples  to  endure,  for  millions  of  years  repose 
"  of  thy  fingers  hath  been  an  abomination  to  thee.  Thou  art  the 
"  lord  of  the  poor  and  needy.  If  thou  wert  overthrown  in  the 
"  heavens  the  gods  would  fall  upon  their  faces,  and  men  would 
"  perish.     He  causeth  the  whole  earth  to  be  opened  by  the  cattle, 

"  and  princes  and  peasants  lie  down  and  rest Thy  form  is 

"  that  of  Khnemu.  When  thou  shinest  upon  the  earth l  shouts  of 
"joy  ascend,  for  all  people  are  joyful,  and  every  mighty  man 
"  receiveth  food,  and  every  tooth  is  provided  with  food.  Thou  art 
"  the  bringer  of  food,  thou  art  the  mighty  one  of  meat  and  drink, 
"  thou  art  the  creator  of  all  good  things,  the  lord  of  divine  meat 

tw  (         (1(1(S;   l  Jfl) i  pleasant   and   choice.  .  .  .  Thou   makest   the 

"  herb  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  thou  takest  heed  unto  what  is 
"  sacrificed  unto  every  god.  The  choicest  incense  is  that  which 
"  followeth  thee,  thou  art  the  lord  of  the  two  lands.  Thou  fillest 
"  the  storehouses,  thou  heapest  high  with  corn  the  granaries,  and 
"  thou  takest  heed  to  the  affairs  of  the  poor  and   needy.     Thou 

1  The  form  of  Khnemu  here  referred  to  is  Kbnemu-Ra. 


46 


THE   NILE   GOD 


"  makest  the  herb  and  green  things  to  grow  that  the  desires 
"  of  all  may  be  satisfied,  and  thou  art  not  reduced  thereby.  Thou 
"  makest  thy  strength  to  be  a  shield  for  man." 

The  following  passage  is  of  particular  interest,  for  it  proves 
that  the  writer  of  the  hymn  felt  how  hopeless  it  was  to  attempt  to 
describe  such  a  mighty  and  mysterious  god  as  the  Nile.  "  He 
"  cannot  be  sculptured  in  stone,  he  is  not  seen  in  the  images  on 
"  which  are  set  the  crowns  of  the  South  and  the  North  and  the 
"  uraei,  neither  works  nor  offerings  can  be  made  to  him.  He 
"  cannot  be  brought  forth  from  his  secret  abodes,  for  the  place 
"  wherein  he  is  cannot  be  known.  He  is  not  to  be  found  in 
"  inscribed  shrines,  there  is  no  habitation  which  is  large  enough 
"  to  contain  him,  and  thou  canst  not  make  images  of  him  in  thy 

"  heart His  name  in  the  Tuat  is  unknown,  the  God  doth 

"  not  make  manifest  his  forms,  and  idle  are  imaginings  concerning 
"  them." 1  From  this  passage  it  is  clear  that  the  Egyptians  paid 
peculiar  honour  to  Hapi,  and  that  he  was  indeed  regarded  as  the 

"  Father  of  the  gods,"     °  | ,  and  "  the  creator  of  things  which 

exist,"   __  SKm,  and   that  the  epithet   of  "Vivifier,"    l-f   m  , 

§£'     LI        AWW     111  I  1  '»*' 

was  especially  suitable  to  him.  It  must  be  noted  too  that  in  one 
aspect  Hapi  was  identified  with  Osiris,  and  this  being  so  Isis 
became  his  female  counterpart,  and  it  is  probable  that,  when 
offerings  were  made  to  Osiris,  i.e.,  Osiris- Apis,  or  Serapis,  in  late 
dynastic  times,  when  every  sanctuary  of  this  double  god  was  called 


°°\  8  e 


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I    I    I 


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The  hieratic  text  is  published  by  Birch,  Select  Papyri,  pll.  xx.  ff. ;  see  also  Maspero, 
Hymne  au  Nil,  Paris,  1868 ;  and  my  First  Steps  in  Egyptian,  p.  204. 


UATCH-URA   AND   MAUIT  47 

a  "Serapeum,"  Hapi  was  held  to  be  included  among  the  forms 
of  the  god.  From  a  number  of  passages  found  chiefly  in  com- 
paratively late  texts  we  learn  that  the  festival  of  the  annual  rise 
of  the  Nile  was  celebrated  throughout  Egypt  with  very  great 
solemnity,  and  statues  of  the  Nile-god  were  carried  about  through 
the  towns  and  villages  that  men  might  honour  him  and  pray  to 
him.  When  the  inundation  was  abundant  the  rejoicings  which 
took  place  after  the  performance  of  the  religious  ceremonies 
connected  with  it  were  carried  out  on  a  scale  of  great  magnificence, 
and  all  classes  kept  holiday.  The  ancient  Egyptian  festival 
has  its  equivalent  among  the  Muhammadans  in  that  which  is 
celebrated  by  them  about  June  17,  and  is  called  Lelet  al-Nukta, 
i.e.,  Night  of  the  Drop,  because  it  is  believed  that  on  that  night 
a  miraculous  drop  falls  from  heaven  into  the  Nile  and  makes 
it  to  rise. 

It  has  been  said  above  that  Osiris  was  identified  with  Hapi, 
and  this  being  so,  Isis  was  regarded  as  the  female  counterpart  of 
Hapi,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  in  very  early  dynastic  times 
other  goddesses  were  assigned  to  him  as  wives  or  sisters.  Thus 
of  Hapi  of  the  South  the  female  counterpart  was  undoubtedly 
Nekhebet,  but  then  this  goddess  was  only  a  form  of  Isis  in 
dynastic  times,  whatever  she  may  have  been  in  the  predynastic 
period.  In  the  north  of  Egypt  the  ancient  goddess  Uatch-uea, 
nJL     :fe  M  ^  J=-r  ^    appears   to    have    been    the    equivalent    of 

Nekhebet  in  the  South.  But  Hapi  was  also  identified  with  Nu, 
the  great  primeval  water  abyss  from  which  all  things  sprang, 
and  as  such  his  female  counterpart  was  Nut,  or  one  of  her  many 
forms.      The   oldest   form   of  this   goddess   appears   to   be    Mut, 

^^E£,  or  Muit,  $^41°'  or  Mauit,  ^^  (](]-$, 
who  is  mentioned  in  the  text  of  Unas  (line  181).  The  text 
generally  shows  that  the  deceased  king  is  identified  with  H  api  the 
Nile-god,  and  he  thus  became  master  of  the  Nile-goddesses  of  the 
South  and  North,  for  it  is  said,  "  0  Ra,  be  thou  good  to  Unas  this 
"  day  as  yesterday.  Unas  has  been  united  to  the  goddess  Mut, 
"  and  he  hath  breathed  the  breath  of  Isis,  and  he  hath  been  joined 
"  to  the  goddess  Nekhebet,  and  he  hath  been  the  husband  of  the 


48 


MAUIT 


"  Beautiful   One," 


°i 


/WVW\        g) 


o 


o 


fg* 


(SOD  kW  1^  I*  —  O m^  i*  1^ 

°L=~  /" M       61  <ww\a       n  -e\  f\    ^\  /www      k_^_j 

Sin 


The  mention  of  Mut,  Isis,  and  Nekhebet  in  this 


connexion  proves  that  all  these  three  goddesses  were  intimately 
related,  and  it  is  clear  that  even  when  the  text  of  Unas  was 
written  the  ancient  goddesses  Mut  and  Nekhebet  were  identified 
with  Isis.  We  should  expect  Uatchet  to  appear  in  connexion 
with  Nekhebet,  but  this  goddess  must  have  been  absorbed  in  Isis 
long  before  the  copies  of  the  Pyramid  Texts  which  we  have  were 
written. 


(     -19     ) 


CHAPTER    III 
THE  TRIAD   OF  ABU  (ELEPHANTINE),   KHNEMU, 

Qk^l-  SATET-  XI'  AND  ANC*ET>  Tzlk 

KHNEMU,  the  first  member  of  the  great  triad  of  Abu,  or 
Elephantine,  is  one  of  the  oldest  gods  of  Egypt,  and  we 
find  him  mentioned  in  the  text  of  Unas  in  such  a  way  as  to  show 
that  even  at  the  remote  period  of  the  reign  of  that  king  his  cult 
was  very  old.  The  views  which  the  Egyptians  held  concerning 
this  god  changed  somewhat  in  the  course  of  their  long  history,  but 
tne  texts  show  that  Khnemu  always  held  an  exalted  position 
among  the  ancient  gods  of  their  country,  and  Ave  know  from 
Gnostic  gems  and  papyri  that  he  was  a  god  of  great  importance  in 
the  eyes  of  certain  semi- Christian  sects  for  some  two  or  three 
centuries  after  the  birth  of  Christ.  It  is  probable  that  Khnemu 
was  one  of  the  gods  of  the  predynastic  Egyptians  who  lived 
immediately  before  the  archaic  period,  for  his  symbol  was  the 
flat-horned  ram,  and  that  animal  appears  to  have  been  introduced 
into  Egypt  from  the  East ;  he  disappears  from  the  monuments 
before  the  period  of  the  Xllth  Dynasty.  In  the  text  of  Unas  the 
name  of  Khnemu  is  found  in  a  section  which  contains  twenty-five 
short  paragraphs,  the  greater  number  of  which  must  certainly  date 
from  a  period  far  older  than  the  reign  of  this  king,  for  the  forms  of 
the  words  and  the  language  are  very  archaic,  and  few  of  the  names 
of  the  serpents  which  are  addressed  in  them  occur  in  later  texts. 
Khnemu  is  represented  on  the  monuments  in  the  form  of  a  ram- 
headed  man  who  usually  holds  in  his  hands  the  sceptre  jL  and  the 
I  emblem  of  life,  ■¥-.  He  wears  the  White  Crown,  to  which  are 
sometimes  attached  plumes,  uraei,  a  disk,  etc. ;  in  one  example 
II — E 


50  KHNEMU 

quoted  by  Lanzone x  he  has  the  head  of  a  hawk,  which  indicates 
that  he  possessed  a  solar  aspect.  As  a  water-god  he  is  seen  with 
outstretched  hands  over  which  flows  water,  and  he  is  sometimes 
seen  with  a  jug,  Q,  above  his  horns,  which  indicates  his  name. 
The  name  of  Khnemu  is  connected  with  the  root  lchnem,  Pj  ¥\  V,, 
"to  join,  to  unite,"  and  with  khnem,  ^t^ym  "to  build"; 
astronomically  the  name  refers  to  the  "  conjunction "  of  the  sun 
and  moon  at  stated  seasons  of  the  year,2  and  we  know  from  the 
texts  of  all  periods  that  Khnemu  was  the  "  builder"  of  gods  and 
men.  He  it  was  who,  according  to  the  statements  which  were 
made  by  his  priests  at  Elephantine,  the  chief  seat  of  his  worship, 
made  the  first  egg  from  which  sprang  the  sun,  and  he  made  the 
gods,  and  fashioned  the  first  man  upon  a  potter's  wheel,  and  he 
continued  to  "  build  up  "  their  bodies  and  maintain  their  life. 

The  portion  of  Egypt  in  which  the  worship  of  Khnemu  was 
supreme  extended  from  Thebes  to  Philae,  but  the  principal 
sanctuaries  of  the  god  were  at  the  two  ends  of  the  First  Cataract, 
i.e.,  on  Elephantine  on  the  north  and  on  Philae  and  the  adjoining 
islands  on  the  south.  He  was  the  god  par  excellence  of  the  First 
Cataract,  throughout  which,  with  his  female  counterpart  Satet  and 
the  local  Nubian  goddess  Anqet,  he  was  worshipped  from  the 
earliest  dynasties  ;   the  goddess  Satet  was  identified  as  a  form  of 

the  star  Sept,  A    ■   ^  J] ,  of  Elephantine  and  of  Menhet,  lady  of 

Latopolis.  An  examination  of  the  texts  makes  it  clear  that 
Khnemu  was  originally  a  water  or  river-god,  and  that  in  very 
early  times  he  was  regarded  as  the  god  of  the  Nile  and   of  the 

annual  Nile-flood,  and  as  such  he  bore  the  name  of  Qebh,  fOJ), 

and  appeared  as  the  ram-headed  god,  *W .     In  the  passages  quoted 

by  Signor  Lanzone3  and  Dr.  Brugsch4  he  is  called  the  "  builder  of 
"  men  and  the  maker  of  the  gods  and  the  Father  who  was  in  the 

"  beginning,"  VM    ^    v&  ^^  ^\    |  , —  TtTtT a;  "  maker  of 

"  things  which   are,  creator  of  things  which  shall  be,  the  source 

1  Op.  cit.,  pi.  336,  No.  4.  2  Brugsch,  Beligion,  p.  290. 

3  Dizionario,  p.  957.  4  Beligion.  p.  291. 


KHNEMU-RA  51 

"  of  things  which  exist,  Father  of  fathers,  and  Mother  of  mothers," 


/VWW\ 


-wtfS— m        „OT«       '^-."-'.T.;    "Father    of 

H II  /T*      /WWVA     I  I  I      fl       WWW        ^~^  III  III 

"  the  fathers  of  the  gods  and  goddesses,  lord  of  created  things  from 
"  himself,  maker  of  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  Tuat,  and  water, 
"  and    mountains  :  "  *^L_  *«mm  3  ^|^|  ^37  O  ^rii 


2J 
(g)  Aw™  r^vi,  and  "raiser  up  of  heaven  upon  its  four  pillars  and 

"  supporter   of    the    same    in    the    firmament,"    <=>  -C)  NK  * 

Khnemu  united  within  himself  the  attributes  of  the  four  great 
gods  Ra,  Shu,  Qeb  or  Seb,  and  Osiris,  and  in  this  aspect  he  is 
represented  in  pictures  with  four  rams'  heads  upon  a  human  body ; 
according  to  Dr.  Brugsch  these  symbolize  fire,  air,  earth,  and 
water.  When  depicted  with  four  heads  Khnemu  was  the  type  of 
the   great  primeval   creative    force,    and   was   called    Sheft-hat, 

*l=_  «=^#  The  first  ram's  head  was  the  head  of  Ra,  and  symbolized 
o  in     c  '  J 

Khnemu  of  Elephantine ;  the  second  was  the  head  of  Shu,  and 
symbolized  Khnemu  of  Latopolis ;  the  third  was  the  head  of  Seb, 
and  symbolized  Khnemu  of  Het-urt;  and  the  fourth  was  the  head 
of  Osiris,  and  symbolized  Khnemu  as  lord  of  Hypselis.  As 
Sheft-hat  Khnemu  was  the  lord  of  Hermopolis  Magna  and  of 
Thmuis,  and  possessed  all  the  attributes  which  have  been 
enumerated  above.  From  another  text  we  learn  that  the  four 
rams  also  symbolized  the  life  of  Ra,  the  life  of  Shu,  the  life  of  Seb, 
and  the  life  of  Osiris,  and  that  the  ram  of  Ra  gave  him  sovereignty 
over  the  South  and  North,  and  identified  him  with  the  Ram  of 

Mendes,  Ba-neb-Tettu,  "5^  ^37  ||^. 

The  principal  shrines  of  Khnemu-Ra  were  situated  at  Sunnu, 

flj§£©,  the  modern  Syene,  on  the  Island  of  Abu,   ^i^,1  the 


modern   Elephantine,  and  on  the  Island   of  Senmut,  ^ 

the    modern    Biggeh,    which    marked    the    frontier    of  Ta-kens, 

1    ,  or  Nubia.     He  appears  in  these  as   the  lord  of  all  the 

1  0r  ?  O  J  ^  @-   The  Islancl  was  also  called  A  J  (?  © > " Qeb,.iet-" 


52  KHNEMU-RA 

South  of  Egypt,  and  is  associated  with  Isis,  the  great  goddess  of 
the  South,  and  in  fact  is  to  the  South  of  Egypt  exactly  what  Ptah- 
Tanen,  who  was  associated  with  Nephthys,  was  to  the  Delta  and 
the  North  of  Egypt.  To  him  was  ascribed  every  attribute  of  Ra, 
and  thus  he  is  described  as  the  god  who  existed  before  anything 
else  was,  who  made  himself,  and  who  was  the  creative  power 
which  made  and  which  sustains  all  things.  When  the  cult  of 
Khnemu-Ra  became  general  in  the  south  his  priests  increased  the 

importance  of  their  god  by  identifying  him  with  Nu,  ^^  3 , 

the  great  primeval  god  of  the  watery  abyss,  and  from  being  the 
local  river-god  of  the  Nile  in  the  First  Cataract  he  became  the  god 
Hap-ur,  l^T^i  ^||,  or  the  Nile  of  heaven;  in  the 
latter  aspect  he  was  said  to  dwell  in  the  Island  of  Senmut. 

The  views  which  were  held  about  Khnemu-Ra  as  god  of  the 
earthly  Nile  are  best  illustrated  by  the  famous  inscription  which 
was  discovered  on  a  rock  on  the  Island  of  Sahal  in  1890  by  the 
late  Mr.  Charles  Wilbour.  According  to  it,  in  the  xviiith  year  of 
king  Tcheser  fw7  ^1,  who  has  been  identified  with  the  third 
king  of  the  Illrd  Dynasty,  the  whole  of  the  region  of  the  South, 
and  the  Island  of  Elephantine,  and  the  district  of  Nubia  were 
ruled  by  the  high  official  Mater,  m o  ^^  v& .     The  king  sent  a 

despatch  to  Mater  informing  him  that  he  was  in  great  grief  by 
reason  of  the  reports  which  were  brought  to  him  into  the  palace 
as  he  sat  upon  his  throne,  and  because  for  seven  years  there  had 
been  no  satisfactory  inundation  of  the  Nile.  As  the  result  of  this 
grain  of  every  kind  was  very  scarce,  vegetables  and  garden 
produce  of  every  kind  could  not  be  found,  and  in  fact  the  people 
had  very  little  food  to  eat,  and  they  were  in  such  need  that  men 
were  robbing  their  neighbours.  Men  wished  to  walk  out,  but 
could  not  do  so  for  want  of  strength  ;  children  were  crying  for  food, 
young  men  collapsed  through  lack  of  food,  and  the  spirits  of  the 
aged  were  crushed  to  the  earth,  and  they  laid  themselves  down  on 
the  ground  to  die.  In  this  terrible  trouble  king  Tcheser  remem- 
bered the  god  I-em-hetep,   0  (1  J\  / ,  the  son  of  Ptah  of  the 

South  Wall,  who,  it  would  seem,  had  once  delivered  Egypt  from  a 


KHNEMU-HAPI  53 

similar  calamity,  but  as  his  help  was  no  longer  forthcoming 
Tcheser  asked  his  governor  Mater  to  tell  him  where  the  Nile  rose, 
and  what  god  or  goddess  was  its  tutelary  deity.  In  answer  to 
this  despatch  Mater  made  his  way  immediately  to  the  kino-,  and 
gave  him  information  on  the  matters  about  which  he  had  asked 
questions.  He  told  him  that  the  Nile  flood  came  forth  from  the 
Island  of  Elephantine  whereon  stood  the  first  city  that  ever 
existed ;  out  of  it  rose  the  Sun  when  he  went  forth  to  bestow 
life  upon  man,  and  therefore  it  is  also  called  "  Doubly  Sweet  Life," 
1 1  "J"  ®  •  The  spot  on  the  island  out  of  which  the  river  rose  was 
the  double    cavern  (?)    Qerti,  <~>  ^ ,  which  was  likened  to  two 

1 1  n  1 1 1 1 1 1      -  —  -m  LJ 

breasts,  ~^  V  ?  from  which  all  good  things  poured  forth ;  this 
double  cavern  was,  in  fact,  the  "  couch  of  the  Nile,"  ^=  <p=^  D 
£==  (^  ^_%  ar>d  from  it  the  Nile-god  watched  until  the  season 
of  inundation  drew  nigh,  and  then  he  rushed  forth  like  a  vigorous 
young  man,  and  filled  the  whole  country.1  At  Elephantine  he 
rose  to  a  height  of  twenty-eight  cubits,  but  at  Diospolis  Parva  in 
the  Delta  he  only  rose  seven  cubits.  The  guardian  of  this  flood 
was  Khnemu,  and  it  was  he  who  kept  the  doors  that  held  it  in, 
and  who  drew  back  the  bolts  at  the  proper  time.  Mater  next 
went  on  to  describe  the  temple  of  Khnemu  at  Elephantine,  and 
told  his  royal  master  that  the  other  gods  in  it  were  Sept  (Sothis), 
Anuqet,  Hapi,  Shu,  Seb,  Nut,  Osiris,  Horus,  Isis,  and  Nephthys, 
and  after  this  he  enumerated  the  various  products  that  were  found 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and  from  which  offerings  ought  to  be  made 
to  Khnemu.  When  the  king  heard  these  words  he  offered  up 
sacrifices  to  the  god,  and  in  due  course  went  into  his  temple  to 
make  supplication  before  him ;  finally  Khnemu  appeared  before 
him,  and  said,  "  I  am  Khnemu  the  Creator.  My  hands  rest  upon 
"  thee  to  protect  thy  person,  and  to  make  sound  thy  body.  I 
"  gave  thee  thine  heart.  ...  I  am  he  who  created  himself.  I  am 
the  primeval  watery  abyss,  and  I  am  Nile  who  riseth  at  his  will 

>WWV\    f ^  H j|  a      r\ 

1  His    inundation   is    thus    described    J\  / J\    U  (I 


54  KHNEMU-HAPI 

"  to  give  health  for  me  to  those  who  toil.  I  am  the  guide  and 
"  director  of  all  men,  the  Almighty,  the  father  of  the  gods, 
"  Shu,  the  mighty  possessor  of  the  earth."  Finally  the  god 
promised  that  the  Nile  should  rise  every  year,  as  in  olden  time, 
and  described  the  good  which  should  come  upon  the  land  when  he 
had  made  an  end  of  the  famine.  When  Khnemu  ceased  to  speak 
king  Tcheser  remembered  that  the  god  had  complained  that  no 
one  took  the  trouble  to  repair  his  shrine,  even  though  stone  lay 
near  in  abundance,  and  he  immediately  issued  a  decree  in  which 
it  was  ordered  that  certain  lands  on  each  side  of  the  Nile  near 
Elephantine  should  be  set  apart  for  the  endowment  of  the  temple 
of  Khnemu,  and  that  a  certain  tax  should  be  levied  upon  every 
product  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  priesthood  of  the  god ;  the  original  text  of  the  decree  was 
written  upon  wood,  and  as  this  was  not  lasting,  the  king  ordered 
that  a  copy  of  it  should  be  cut  upon  a  stone  stele  which  should  be 
set  in  a  prominent  place.1  It  is  nowhere  said  that  the  god  kept 
his  promise  to  Tcheser,  but  we  may  assume  that  he  did.  The 
form  of  the  narrative  of  the  Seven  Years'  Famine  summarized 
above  is  not  older  than  the  Ptolemaic  period,  but  the  subject 
matter  belongs  to  a  much  older  time,  and  very  probably  represents 
a  tradition  which  dates  from  the  Early  Empire. 

We  have  seen  that  the  spirit,  or  soul,  of  Khnemu  pervaded  all 
things,  and  that  the  god  whose  symbol  was  a  ram  was  the  creator 
of  men  and  gods,  and  in  connexion  with  this  must  be  noted 
the  fact  that,  together  with  Ptah,  he  built  up  the  edifice  of  the 
material  universe  according  to  the  plans  which  he  had  made  under 
the  guidance  and  direction  of  Thoth.  As  the  architect  of  the 
universe  he  possessed  seven  forms  which  are  often  alluded  to  in 
texts  ;  they  are  sometimes  represented  in  pictures,  and  their  names 
are  as  follows  : — 

0  1   jk  X  D  A  3 '  Khnemu  Nehep,  "  Khnemu  the  Creator." 
\lf  1 1  \\  5} ,  Khnemu  Khenti-taui,  "  Khnemu,  governor  of 

the  two  lands." 

1  For  the   hieroglyphic   text    see   Brugscb,    Die    biblisclten    sieben   Julire   der 
Hiingersnoth,  Leipzig,  1891. 


The    Goddess    SATI. 


1 


FORMS   OF   KHNEMU  55 

®  ^[=®=l2^=^J'  Khnemu  Sekhbt  ashsep-f,  "  Khnemu, 
weaver  of  his  light." 

|  ^  uru  ^-^,     Khnemu    Khenti     per-ankh,     "Khnemu, 
Governor  of  the  House  of  Life." 

=  T^Cw'  Khnemu   Neb-ta-Ankhtet,  "Khnemu,  lord  of 
the  Land  of  Life." 

r)TK  If  ■¥-   Q   jf|.   Khnemu   Khenti   netchemtchem   ankhet, 
"  Khnemu,  G-overnor  of  the  House  of  Sweet  Life." 
^W     Jj   5,  Khnemu  Neb,  "Khnemu,  Lord." 

Sati>  s3|j'  or  Satet'  ^C^or>  T"~$\'  was  &e  Prin- 
cipal female  counterpart  of  Khnemu,  and  was  worshipped  with 
him  at  Elephantine,  where  she  was  a  sister  goddess  of  Anqet.    Her 

name   appears   to  be  connected  with  the  root  sat,      ]T"         ,  "to 

shoot,  to  eject,  to  pour  out,  to  throw,"  and  the  like,  and  sat  is 
also  used  in  connexion  with  the  scattering  abroad  and  sowing  of 
seed,  and  with  the  sprinkling  of  water ;  thus  at  any  rate  at  one 
period  she  must  have  been  regarded  as  the  goddess  of  the  inunda- 
tion, who  poured  out  and  spread  over  the  land  the  life-giving 
waters  of  the  Nile,  and  as  the  goddess  of  fertility.  She  sometimes 
carries  in  her  hands  a  bow  and  arrows,  a  fact  which  suggests  that 
in  her  earliest  form  she  was  a  goddess  of  the  chase ;  according  to 
Dr.  Brugsch,  she  was  identified  by  the  Greeks  with  their  goddess 
Hera.2  In  many  pictures  of  the  goddess  we  see  her  wearing  the 
crown  of  the  South  and  a  pair  of  horns,  which  prove  that  she  was 

a  form  of  Ast-Sept,  j|      A  ^  -^  J) ,  or  Isis-Sothis.     At  the  time 

when  the  temple  of  Dendera  was  built  she  was  identified  with  the 

local    goddess    Isis-Hathor    of    Dendera,    with   A:\jent,    (1 "   ^J), 


of  Thebes,  and  Menat,   awaa      W     of   Heliopolis,  and   Renpit   of 

1  This   goddess  must  not  be   confounded  with  the   Satet,    ?      "*  J]  ?  who  is 

represented  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  and  bears  upon  her  head  the  Utchat  ^^^  , 
ami  was  a  local  Alexandrian  form  of  Isis;  see  Lanzone,  Dizionario,  p.  1124. 

2  Religion,  p.  299. 


56  SATI    OR    SATET 

Memphis,  the  goddess  of  the  year,  etc.  In  the  text  of  Pepi  I. 
Sati  is  mentioned  (line  297)  under  the  form  Sethat,  |l  s=>  (j  ^*, 
and  we  see  from  the  context  that  in  that  early  period  the  goddess 
possessed  a  temple  at  Elephantine.  The  dweller  in  Tep,  „  ^, 
is  said  to  have  aided  the  king,  who  "has  censed  himself  and 
"  performed  his  ceremonies  of  purification  with  a  vessel  of  wine, 
"  which  hath  come  from  the  vine  of  the  god.1  .  .  .  Seb  stretcheth 
"  out  his  hand  to  Pepi  and  guideth  him  through  the  gates 
"  of  heaven,  a  god  in  his    beautiful  place,  a  god    in   his   place, 

"  1  Ibv  fP  'I  *"^~  1  frk  ll  '  °>  anc^  behold  Sethat  washeth 
"  him  with  the  water  which  is  in  her  four  vases  in  Abu  "  (Elephan- 
tine). The  mention  of  Tep  shows  that  there  was  some  connexion 
between  the  goddess  of  the  city  of  Per-Uatchet  and  the  goddess  of 
Elephantine  long  before  the  period  of  the  Vlth  Dynasty.  In  the 
preface  to  the  cxxvth  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  the 
deceased  enumerates  the  various  sacred  places  which  he  has 
visited,  and  says,  "  I  have  been  in  the  waters  of  the  stream,  and  I 
"  have  made  offerings  of  incense.  I  have  guided  myself  to  the 
"  Shentet  Tree  of  the  [divine]  children,  and  I  have  been  in  Abu 

"  (Elephantine)  in  the  Temple  of  Satet,"  ||    °  pA .     This   is 

the  only  mention  of  Sati,  or  Satet,  in  the  Theban  Recension  of  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead,  but  it  is  of  great  importance  as  showing  that 
the  temple  of  the  goddess  at  Abu  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
principal  holy  places  in  Egypt.     It  has   already  been  said  that 

Sati  was  connected  by  the  Egyptians  with  the  star  Sept,  A       J) » 

wherein  dwelt  the  soul  of  Isis,  and  from  this  point  of  view  Sati 
was  a  form  of  Isis,  and  became  in  consequence  a  female  counter- 
part of  Osiris  ;  this  fact  will  account  for  the  mention  of  Sati  in  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead.  The  centre  of  the  worship  of  Sati  appears  to 
have  been  the  Island  of  Sahal,  J^~,  which  lies  about  two  miles  to 
the  south  of  Elephantine,  in  the  First  Cataract. 

-   ~     I      I      Y>\       aa/w\a     '|66l         I 
J        ^     ^  I       I         I 


The    Goddess    ANQET. 


ANQET  57 

Anqet,     aa^a  n  9    was   the    third    member   of    the    triad    of 

Elephantine,  which  consisted  of  Khnemu,  Sati,  and  Anqet,  and 
she  seems  to  have  possessed  many  of  the  attributes  of  her  sister- 
goddess  Sati.     In  pictures  Anqet  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a 

woman  who  holds  in  her  hands  the  sceptre  T,  and  the  emblem  of 
"life,"  •¥-;  she  wears  on  her  head  a  crown  of  feathers  which  are 
arranged  in  such  a  way  as  to  suggest  a  savage  origin.  She 
appears  to  have  been  originally  a  goddess  of  some  island  in  the 
First  Cataract,  but  in  early  dynastic  times  she  was  associated  with 
Khnemu  and  Sati,  and  her  worship  was  common  throughout 
Northern  Nubia ;  later  the  centre  of  her  worship  was"  at  SAhal, 
and  she  was  regarded  as  a  goddess  of  that  island,  and  was  called 

"lady  of  Satet,"  ^37  ^^  Nebt  Satet.  Her  temple  there  seems 
to  have  been  named  "  Amen-heri-ab,"  (1  <=>  3  T,  but  it  is  clear 

I    AftAAAA  \\  U    vi> 

from  the  appearance  of  Amen's  name  in  its  title  that  it  cannot  be 
older  than  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty.  At  Philae  another  temple 
was  built   in  her   honour,   and  it  bore  the  name    of   "  Pa-mer," 

£3-2,  and  it  seems  that  from  this  island  southwards 
she  was  identified  with  Nephthys.  In  very  early  times  Osiris, 
Isis,  and  Nephthys  were  associated  in  a  triad,  and  as  Osiris  was  a 
form  of  Khnemu,  and  Khnemu  a  form  of  Osiris,  and  Isis  and  Sati 
were  sister  goddesses,  it  followed  as  a  matter  of  course  that  Anqet 
should  be  identified  with  Nephthys.     According  to  Dr.  Brugsch,1 

the  name  "Anqet"  is   derived  from  the  root  anq,  (I  •  ,   "  to 

surround,  to  embrace,"  and  the  like,  and  has  reference  to  the 
goddess  as  the  personification  of  the  waters  of  the  Nile  which 
embrace,  and  nourish,  and  fructify  the  fields.  Among  the  pictures 
of  Anqet  reproduced  by  Signor  Lanzone2  is  one  in  which  the 
goddess  is  seen  seated  in  a  shrine  with  a  table  of  offerings  before 
her  ;  the  shrine  is  placed  in  a  boat,  at  each  end  of  which  is  an 
aegis  of  a  goddess,  who  wears  on  her  head  a  disk  and  horns,  ^4y . 
and  is  probably  Isis ;  the  boat  floats  on  a  stream  from  which  runs 
a  small  arm.     The  goddess  is  styled  "Anqet,  lady  of  Satet  (i.e., 

1  Beligion,  p.  302.  2  Dizionario,  pi.  xliv.  ff. 


58  KHNEMU   HER-SHEF 

"  the  Island  of  Sahal),  lady  of  heaven,  mistress  of  all  the  gods," 

r^^^^^'^i^in^7^!- in  an°ther  pictnre 

she  is  seen  suckling  a  young  king  whose  neck  she  embraces  with  her 
left  arm,  and  in  a  text  which  accompanies  another  representation 
she  is  described  as  the  "  giver  of  life,  and  of  all  power,  and  of  all 

"  health,  and  of  all  joy  of  heart,"  ^  ^  ^7  [1  ~J  |  ^  <A  ^ . 

We  have  now  to  consider  two  very  important  forms  of 
Khnemu,  that  is  to  say,  1.  Khnemu  who,  under  the  form  of  Her- 
shef,  was  worshipped  at  Herakleopolis  Magna,  and  2.  Khnemu 
who,  under  the  form  of  Osiris,  was  worshipped  at  Mencles. 

1.    Khnemu     as     Her-shef,       ^    n3  J,     or     Her-sheft, 


JJ  ,    was    worshipped    at    Suten-henen,    or    Henen-su, 
I  m  /w»™     or  Het-Henen-su,     J  I  ^)AAAA^,    under   the 

T    AWVAA     K       O    ©  •  III    LT=1    T    AWAA     JT       <=>    ©' 

form  of  a  horned,  ram-headed  man,  and  wore  the  White  Crown 
with  plumes,  a  disk,  and  uraei  attached.  The  Greeks  trans- 
scribed  the  name  Her-shef  by  s ' Apaacf)^,  and  as  Plutarch  says 
that  it  means  "  strength,  bravery,"  it  is  clear  that  in  his  time  the 
latter  portion  of  it,  shef  or  sheft,  was  derived  from  shef,  or  shift, 
JJ,  "^^^  |  j  "strength,  power,  bravery,"  and  the  like. 
On  the  other  hand   two  variant  forms  of  the  name  of  the    god 


are: — Her-she-f.     v  «^^,  i.e.,  "  He  who  is  on  his  lake,"  and 

Heri-sha-f,     ^     ^    ^j\    °  °,    i.e.,   "He   who   is   on  his   sand." 

The  first  form  would  connect  the  god  with  Lake  Moeris,  and  the 
second  refers  to  him  as  an  aspect  or  phase  of  Osiris,  who  bears  this 
title  in  Chapter  cxli.,  line  109,  and  Chapter  cxlii.,  line  24,  of  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead.  In  Chapter  xlii.,  line  14,  the  god  Aa-shefit, 
<7^>n         (1  (1  ^  2L  Jn  ,  is  mentioned,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  also  is 

to  be  identified  with  Osiris.  Henen-su,  the  centre  of  the  worship 
of  Khnemu  under  the  form  of  Her-shefi,  is  often  referred  to  in  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead,  and  a  number  of  important  mythological  events 
are  said  to  have  taken  place  there.  Thus  it  was  here  that  Ra  rose 
for  the  first  time  when  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  created 
(xvii.  7-9),  and  it  was  this  rising  which  formed  the  first  great  act 


HERU-SHEFIT.    the    Lord    of    Suten-Henen 


THE   BENNU  59 

of  creation,  because  as  soon  as  Ra  rose  he  separated  the  earth  from 
the  sky.  Osiris  was  here  crowned  lord  of  the  universe,  and  here 
his  son  Horus  assumed  the  throne  of  his  father  left  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Osiris.  When  Ra  ordered  the  goddess  Sekhet  to  go  forth 
and  destroy  mankind  because  they  had  mocked  him  and  had  spoken 
lightly  of  his  age,  she  started  on  her  journey  from  Henen-su.  To 
this  place  also  returned  Set  after  his  defeat  by  Horus,  who  had 
wounded  him  severely,  and  Osiris  was  believed  to  have  taken  a 
spade  and  covered  over  with  earth  the  blood  *  which  dropped  from 
him  and  his  fiends,  and  to  have  buried  the  bodies  of  those  whom 
Horus  had  slain.  It  is  this  act  which  is  alluded  to  by  the  deceased 
when  he  says  (Chapter  i.,  line  30),  "  I  have  grasped  the  spade  on 
"  the  day  of  digging  the  earth  in  Suten-lienen  (or  Henen-su)." 
Elsewhere  (xvii.  49)  we  have  an  allusion  to  the  "  day  of  the  union 

of  the  two  earths,"  IT  *K\  ,  smut  taui,  which  is  explained 

by  the  stronger  expression,  "  the  completing  of  the  two  earths," 

fofo c  '  ,   temt    taui.     The   text  which   follows   says  that   it 

refers  to  "  the  mingling  of  earth  with  earth  in  the  coffin  of  Osiris, 
"  who  is  the  Soul  that  dwelleth  in  Henen-su,  and  the  giver  of 
,;  meat  and  drink,  and  the  destroyer  of  wrong,  and  the  guide  of 
"  the  everlasting  paths,  i.e.,  Ra  himself."  An  entirely  different 
matter  in  connexion  with  the  two  earths  is  mentioned  in  line  121), 
where  there  is  an  allusion  to  "  Shu,  the  strengthener  of  the  two 

"  lands      in      Henen-su,"        A      A      X     R\  3  '    ^^  u\>  <= 

A/WVAA    A/WVAA    ^  A       I        —21       i — I       '     •  •  •     '    S  —21 

%  ^™ ,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  words  refer  to  the 

part  which  Shu  played  at  the  Creation,  when  he  held  up  with  his 
arms  and  hands  the  sky  which  Ra  had  made  to  separate  it  from 
the  earth. 

At  Henen-su  lived  the  Great  Benxu,  J  m%    tj^wj   □  _y>  QQ 

- a    (Chapter   cxxv.    18),    and  in   the  neighbourhood  dwelt  the 

'  w  ■ 

awful  "Ckusher  of  Bones,"  [l^^^ — °  E  i,  Set-qesu,  who  is 
mentioned  in  the  Negative  Confession,  and  in  this  place  the  souls 
of  the  beatified  found  a  place  of  rest  in  the  realm  of  Osiris  in  this 

1   Naville,  Heracleopolis,  p.  8. 


60  HER-SHEF 

place  (cxxxvii.A,  25).  Near  Henen-su  were  the  two  great  mytho- 
logical lakes  called  Heh,  ^i  ! ,  and  Uatch-urA,  ^  ^  (|  ^  S  ; 
the  variant  forms  of  the  first  of  these  are  : — Semu  -  heh, 
P  ^5^  tjk  ^  -^  jf1  ' '  an^  Utet-heh,  ^\  ^  ^  W\  i .     The  sanctuary 

AAAAAA     ^ ^>       *=»/V 

of  Osiris   at   Henen-su  was  called  Nareref,   "^  Jy>  nm ,  or 

"  An-rut-f,"  _n_  y\         ,  i.e.,  "  the  place  where  nothing  groweth," 

and  it  was  entered  by  a  door  on  the  south  side  called  Re-stau, 

~^~  '   '   '  (Chapter  xvii.  52)  ;  in  some  portion  of  the  sanctuary 

was  the  Aat-en-shet,  '^     |1  ,  or  "  region  of  fire,"  and  near  it 

was    the   torture    chamber    named    "  Sheni,"      X    (1(1         .      This 

chamber  was  guarded  by  a  god  with  the  face  of  a  greyhound 
and  the  eyebrows  of  a  man,  and  he  sat  watching  at  the  "  Elbow," 

a    \ \         ,  of  the  "  Lake  of  Fire  "  for  the  dead  who  passed  that  way, 

and  as  he  remained  himself  unseen  he  was  able  to  seize  upon  them 
and  tear  out  their  hearts  and  devour  them.  The  texts  show  that 
there  was   great   difference   of  opinion   about  the   name    of  this 

monster,    which    is    given   as   Mates,    ^g^  e=^  ^>^ ,    and    Beba, 
and  Heri-sep-f 


\\    □© 
These  facts,  which  are  derived  chiefly  from  the  xviith  Chapter 

of  the  Booh  of  the  Bead,  prove  that  Henen-su,  or  Herakleopolis, 
possessed  a  system  of  theology  of  its  own,  and  that  this  system 
must  be  very  ancient,  but  whether  it  is  older  than  that  of  Helio- 
polis  it  is  impossible,  at  present,  to  say  definitely.  What  is 
certain,  however,  is  that  the  great  local  god  Her-shef  was 
sufficiently  important  to  be  regarded  as  a  form  of  the  great  ram- 
god  Khnemu.  It  must  be  noted  also  that  Her-shef  was  a  solar 
god,  and  that  as  such  many  of  the  titles  of  Ra  were  bestowed  upon 
him ;  it  is  said  that  he  lit  up  the  world  with  his  beams,  that  his 
right  eye  was  the  sun  and  his  left  eye  the  moon,  that  his  soul  was 
the  light,  and  that  the  north  wind  which  gave  life  to  all  came 
forth  from  his  nostrils.  He  is  said,  moreover,  like  Ra,  to  be 
"  One."  1     In  a  figure  of  the  god  reproduced  by  Lanzone2  he  has 

1  Religion,  p.  304.  "  Dizionario,  p.  552. 


The    Goddess   ANIT. 


HER-SHEF  61 

four  heads ;  one  is  the  head  of  a  bull,  one  that  of  a  ram,  and  two 
are  the  heads  of  hawks.  Above  these  are  the  characteristic  horns 
of  Khnemu  which  are  surmounted  by  two  plumes  and  four  knives. 
These  four  heads  represent  the  four  gods  who  formed  Khnemu  of 
Henen-su,  i.e.,  Ra,  Shu,  Seb,  and  Osiris,  and  thus  he  might  be 
identified  with  Ra-Tem  of  Heliopolis,  or  Amen-Ra  of  Thebes,  and 
either  of  these  compound  gods  might  be  worshipped  as  one  of  his 
forms. 

The  female  counterpart  of  Her-shef  possesses  various  names, 
and  as  she  was  identified  with  various  goddesses  this  is  not  to  be 
wondered    at ;    her   chief  attributes   were    those    of   Hathor   and 

Isis,    and   her   local   name   was    Atet,  J),    or   Mersekhnet, 

3=r|lff  fij     .     Many  of  her  attributes,   however,  were  those  of 

Net  (Neith),  ^^  J),  and  Meh-urt,  and  Heqet,  and  Anit,  |  M\  °; 

as  the  last  named  goddess  she  was  the  sister  of  Ka-hetep,  i.e., 
Osiris.  According  to  a  text  quoted  by  Dr.  Brugsch,1  Atet,  the 
local  goddess  of  Henen-su,  in  the  form  of  a  cat  slew  Apep,  the 
great  serpent  of  darkness.  From  this  it  is  clear  that  she  was  a 
female  counterpart  of  Ra,  who,  as  we  knew  from  the  xviith 
Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  took  the  form  of  a  cat,  and  slew 
Apep,  the  prince  of  darkness,  who  had  taken  the  form  of  a  monster 

serpent.     The  text  says,  "  I  am  the  Cat  (Mau,  0  0  y\  tSr) ,  which 

"  fought  (?)  hard  by  the  Persea  Tree  (Ashet,  (1  e*=^  A),  in  Annu,  on 

"the  night  when  the  foes  of  Neb-er-tcher 2  (  wf)    were 

"  destroyed."  The  explanation  of  this  statement  which  follows  the 
question,  "  Who  then  is  this  ?  "  is  "  The  male  Cat  is  Ra  himself, 
"  and  he  is  called  '  Mau '  by  reason  of  the  words  of  the  god  Sa,3 

"  who  said  about  him,  '  [Who]  is  like  (man,  2  Q  y>  -  )>  un^o  him?' 
"and  thus  his  name  became  'Mau'  (i.e.,  Cat)."  The  fight  here 
referred  to  is  the  first  battle  which  the  god  of  light  waged  against 

1  Diet.  Geog.t  p.  399. 

3  A   form   of   Osiris,  both  as   the  lord  of   the  universe,  and  as   lord  of    his 
re-united  body. 

3  The  god  of  Reason,  or  Intelligence. 


62  HENEN-SU 

the  fiends  of  darkness  at  Annu,  after  which  he  rose  in  the  form  of 
the  sun  upon  this  world. 

Finally,  in  connexion  with  the  city  Henen-su  we  must  note 
that  there  existed  in  the  temple  there  a  shrine  which  was  dedicated 
to   the    goddess    Neheb-kau    ^^  t\    ?  J  *tM  WL  3 ,    who   was 

worshipped  there  in  the  form  of  a  huge  serpent.  She  was  one  of 
the  Forty-two  Assessors  of  the  Hall  of  Maati  (Negative  Confession, 
line  40),  and  in  the  Papyrus  of  Nu  (cxlix.  5)  the  deceased  says 
that  she  has  "  stablishecl  his  head  for  him  ;  "  elsewhere  she  seems 
to  be  mentioned  as  a  form  of  Nut,  and  to  be  the  female  counter- 
part of  the  serpent  god  Nau.1  She  was  a  goddess  who  provided 
for  the  dead  meat  and  drink,  not  the  material  offerings  of  earth, 

but  the  divine  tchefaut  food,  ^     |  *|\    \\  <=>  <l^  3   i ,  or        |)  ^=^ ,  or 

tcheftchef,  ^^%    "^  "%v  ,  which  may  be  compared  to  the  nectar 

and  ambrosia  on  which  the  gods  of  Olympus  lived,  and  which  grew 
in   the   portion   of    the    Sekhet-Aaru,    or   Elysian   Fields,    called 

Tchefet,  ^3  ^/V  © .  What  this  food  was  cannot  be  said,  but  the 
word  tchef  or  tcheftchef  is  connected  with  tcheftchef,  1^10) 
"to  shed  light,"  and  tchef  etch  ^  ^  0,  the  "pupil  of  the  eye" 

of  Ra,  i.e.,  the  "Eye  of  Horus,"  '     "  V^,  which  is  mentioned  so 

often  in  the  Pyramid  Texts,  and  it  must  then  either  be  a  celestial 
food  made  of  light,  or  some  product  of  the    mythological  Olive 

Tree,  ^*     w,  Baqet,  which   grew  in  Annu   (Unas,   line   170). 

In  any  case  Neheb-kau  was  a  very  ancient  goddess  who  was 
connected  with  the  Elysian  Fields  of  the  Egyptians,  and  she  is 
often  depicted  in  the  form  of  a  serpent  with  human  legs  and  arms, 
and  sometimes  with  wings  also,  and  she  carries  in  her  hands  one 
or  two  vases  containing  food  for  the  deceased.  In  the  text  of 
Unas  (line  599)  she  is  referred  to  in  the  following  passage : — 
"  Homage  to  thee,  0  Horus,  in  the  domains  of  Horus  !  Homage 
"  to  thee,  0  Set,  in  the  domains  of  Set !     Homage  to  thee,  thou 


AA/WV\ 
1 


Aat  x.,  1.  6. 


HENEN-SU  63 

"  god    Aar    (l\  ^j\   -^^)  ,    in     Sekhet  -  Aarer 


>/  \  |      ^    nifil  ril ,  nl  ii  11 1  iM  ril  n 

"11^21)1)1)1)!)'  Homa°e  to  thee'  Netetthab  Q  ^(jo), 
"  daughter  of  these  four  gods  who  are  in  the  Great  House.  Even 
"  when  the  command  of  Unas  goeth  not  forth,  uncover  yourselves 
"  in  order  that  Unas  may  see  you  as  Horus  seeth  Isis,  as  Nehebu- 
"  kau  (>www  A    J  ^\  ULi  3^j  seeth  Serqet,  as  Sebek  seeth  Net 

"  (Neith),  and  as  Set  seeth  Netetthab." 

Among  the  greatest  of  the  festivals  at  Henen-su  were  those 
in  honour  of  Neheb-kau  which,  according  to  Dr.  Brugsch,1  were 
celebrated  on  the  first  of  Tybi,  that  is  to  say,  nine  days  after  the 

"Festival   of  Ploughing   the   Earth,"    Khebs-ta,   ©  JO         ^^7, 

when  men  began  to  plough  the  land  after  the  subsidence  of  the 
waters  of  the  Inundation.  Under  the  heading  "  Osiris  "  reference 
is  made  to  the  performance  of  the  ceremony  of  "  ploughing  the 
earth,"  which  gave  the  name  to  the  festival,  but  it  may  be  noted 
in  passing  that  it  appears  to  have  had  a  double  signification,  i.e., 
it  commemorated  the  burial  of  Osiris,  and  it  symbolized  the 
ploughing  of  the  land  throughout  the  country  preparatory  to 
sowing  the  seed  for  the  next  year's  crop.  Other  festivals 
were  those  of  Bast,  Avhich  were  celebrated  in  the  spring  of  the 
Egyptian  year,  and  those  of  the  "  hanging  out  of  the  heavens," 
K^y  °  ^3[P ,  i.e.,  the  supposed  reconstituting  of  the  heavens 
each  year  in  the  spring.  Finally,  in  connexion  with  Henen-su 
may  be  mentioned  the   God  Heneb,2  8    ViX     B|M  ,  for  whom  in 

r>   /wwv\  *£u 

the  Saite  period  the  official  Heru  planted  two  vineyards ;  of  the 
attributes  of  this  god  we  know  nothing,  but  it  is  probable  that  he 
was  supposed  to  preside  over  grain  and  other  products  of  the  land. 
In  several  passages  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  we  have  the  word 

heribet  |  ^t  L  ,  "  corn-lands,  provisions,"  and  the  like,  and 
in  Chapter  clxxx.  line  29,  a  god  called  Henbi,  «    Ml   J \  M  ■  jj. 

is  mentioned,  and  he  appears  to  be  identical  with  the  Heneb  of 
the  stele  of  Heru. 

1  liel'ujion,  p.  305.  -  Bragsch,  Diet.  Gt'og.,  pp.  85:2,  1364. 


64  FORMS   OF   KHNEMU 

Coming  now  to  the  second  great  form  of  Khnemu,  viz.,  that 
under  which  he  was  worshipped  at  Mendes,  we  find  that  at  a  very 
early  date  he  was  identified  with  the  great  god  of  that  city,  and 
was  known  as  Ba-neb-Tettu,  "^  ^37  j  j?  @,  i.e.,  the  Ram,  lord 
of  Tettu.  Now  as  the  word  for  "  soul "  in  Egyptian  was  Ba,  and 
as  a  name  of  the  ram  was  also  Ba,  the  title  Ba-neb-Tettu  was 
sometimes  held  to  mean  the  "  Soul,  the  lord  Tettu,"  and  this  was 
the  name  at  Mendes  of  the  local  form  of  Khnemu,  whose  symbol 
there,  as  elsewhere,  was  a  ram.  Ba-neb-Tettu,  whose  name  was 
corrupted  by  the  Greeks  into  MeVSr??,  and  Tamai  al-Amdid :  by 
the  Arabs,  was  said  to  be  the  "  living  soul  of  Ra,  the  holy  Sekhem 

"who  dwelleth  within  Hat-mehit,  v-^-i,,"  and  the  "life  of  Ra," 

■V-         a^vnaa a     and  he  was  worshipped  throughout  the  sixteenth 

nome  from  the  earliest  times.  He  was  regarded  as  the  virile 
principle  in  gods  and  men,  and  is  styled,  "  King  of  the  South  and 
"  North,  the  Ram,  the  virile  male,  the  holy  phallus,  which  stirreth 
"  up  the  passions  of  love,  the  Ram  of  rams,  whose  gifts  are  brought 
"  forth  by  the  earth  after  it  hath  been  flooded  by  the  Nile,  the 
"  Soul,  the  life  of  Ra,  who  is  united  with  Shu  and  Tefnut,  the  One 
"  god,  who  is  mighty  in  strength,  who  riseth  in  the  heavens  with 
"  four  heads,  who  lighteth  up  the  heavens  and  the  earth  (like  Ra), 
"  who  appeareth  in  the  form  of  the  Nile  like  (Osiris),  who  vivifieth 
"  the  earth  (like  Seb),  and  who  formeth  the  breath  of  life  for  all 
"  men,  the  chief  of  the  gods,  the  lord  of  heaven  and  the  king  of 
"the  gods."2  Ba-neb-Tettu  was  originally  a  local  form  of  Ra, 
but  he  subsequently  was  made  to  include  within  himself  not  only 
the  Soul  of  Ra,  but  the  Souls  of  Osiris,  and  Seb,  and  Shu.  These 
four  Souls  are  reproduced  by  Signor  Lanzone,3  and  appear  in  the 
form  of  four  rams,  the  horns  of  each  being  surmounted  by  a 
uraeus ;    they  are  described  as   "  The   Soul  of  Seb,  lord  of  Het- 

1  aj>-^\  ^3.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  first  portion  of  this  name  represents 
©/xout?,  the  Greek  name  of  one  portion  of  the  ancient  city  of  Tettu,  and  the  second 
— "  al-Amdid  " — is  a  corruption  of  Ba-neb-Tettu,  which  became  Ba-neb-Tet,  then 
Ba-n-Tet,  and  finally  Man-Tet,  Mendes. 

2  See  Brugsch,  Religion,  p.  309.  3  Dizionario,  pi.  68. 


C=D 


\aI\MSv\        A* 

k  r    ~ 

l! 

— — — 


HAT-MEHIT  65 

"  teft ;     the    Soul    of    Osiris,    lord    of    Ta-sent ;     the    Soul    of 

"  Shu,  lord  of  Anit ;    and  the  Soul  of  Ra,   dweller  in " 

In   allusion   to   these    Souls   the    Ram   of    Mendes   is   sometimes 
described  as  the  Ram  with  "  Four  faces  (or,  heads)  on  one  neck," 

99  _^        J 0" 

The    female   counterpart   of  Ba-neb-Tettu   was    Hat-mehit, 

e==^00\|  Qhc!$'  anc^  ^er  son  ky  the   g0^  was   Heru-pa-khart, 
the   dweller   within   Tettu,    vv  □  S)?|ftu.     This    goddess   is 


always  represented  as  a  woman,  who  bears  on  her  head  the  fish, 
<^)\,  which  is  the  symbol  of  the  nome,  *-«-il.     She  is  described  as 

"ITT  T  T 

the  dweller  in  Atemet,  **"*  (j    Q     ]         and  she  was  in  some 

way  connected  with  Punt,  but  the  centre  of  her  worship  in  Egypt 
was  the  city  of  Mendes,  of  which  [she  is  called  the  "  Mother  ;  "  she 
was,  of  course,  a  form  both  of  Isis  and  Hathor,  and  as  such  was 
called  "  the  Eye  of  Rfi,  the  lady  of  heaven,  and  the  mistress  of  the 
gods."  In  late  dynastic  times,  when  Ba-neb-Tettu  was  especially 
regarded  as  the  Soul  of  Osiris,  and  when  the  other  aspects  of  the 
god  were  not  considered  of  so  much  importance,  Hat-Mehit  was 
wholly  identified  with  Isis,  and  her  son  "  Harpocrates,  the 
dweller  in  Mendes,"  became  to  all  intents  and  purposes  "  Horus, 
the  son  of  Isis,"  by  Osiris.  Thus  we  see  that  the  local  god  of 
Mendes,  who  was  originally  a  form  of  Ra,  the  Sun-god  by  day, 
was  merged  into  Osiris,  the  Sun-god  by  night ;  the  priests,  how- 
ever, were  careful  to  preserve  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  their 
god,  i.e.,  virility  and  the  power  to  create,  and  to  recreate,  and  they 
did  so  by  declaring  that  the  phallus  and  the  lower  part  of  the 

backbone,     -     — •—  >^ ,  of  Osiris  were  preserved  in  the  temple  of 

the  city  which  bore  the   name   of  Per-khet,  ^  ^ ,  i.e.,  the 

"  House  of  the  staircase."     The  Ram  of  Mendes  was  then  a  form 

of  "  Osiris  as  the  Generator,"     jl      ^  %>  1^  f"^  >  as  ne  is  called 


1  Piehl  in  Recneil,  torn,  ii.,  p.  30;  de  Rouge,  Gcog.  Ancienne,  p.  114. 


II — F 


66  DECAY   OF   MENDES 

in  Chapters  cxli.  and  cxlii.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  and  the 
popularity  of  his  cult  in  the  Delta  was  probably  due  to  the 
elaborate  phallic  ceremonies  which  were  celebrated  at  Mendes  and 
in  the  neighbourhood  annually. 

Before  the  close  of  the  Ptolemaic  period,  however,  some 
calamity  seems  to  have  fallen  upon  Mendes,  and  her  sanctuary 
was  forsaken  and  her  god  forgotten ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
portion  of  the  city  which  was  known  by  the  name  Thmuis, 
Gfxovis,  survived,  and  was  sufficiently  important  in  Christian 
times  to  possess  a  bishop  of  its  own.  The  Copts  called 
the  place  -ejutoveujc,  or  ^Baki  ojuioyi,  and  a  Bishop  of 
Thmoui  was  present  both  at  the  Council  of  Nice  and  the  Council 
of  Ephesus.1 

Finally,  we  have  to  note  that  Khnemu  as  a  form  of  Shu,  i.e., 
as  a  personification  of  the  wind,  and  atmosphere,  and  the  supporter 
of  heaven,  and  the  light  of  the  Sun  and  Moon,  was  worshipped  at 
several  places  in  Upper  Egypt  and  in  Heliopolis  under  the  form  of 
a  ram ;  the  centre  of  his  worship  at  this  last-named  place  was 
Het-Benben,  or  the  "  House  of  the  Obelisk."  At  Latopolis  he 
absorbed  the  attributes  of  Tern,  and  he  was  identified  with  Nu,  the 
maker  of  the  universe  and  creator  of  the  gods  ;  similarly,  he  was 
regarded  as  a  form  of  Ptah  and  of  Ptah-Tanen,  and  his  female 
counterparts  were  Menhit,  Sekhet,  and  Tefnut.  In  a  hymn  which 
is  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  the  temple  of  Esna  he  is  called,  "  The 
"  prop  of  heaven  who  hath  spread  out  the  same  with  his  hands,"  and 
the  sky  is  said  to  rest  upon  his  head  whilst  the  earth  beareth  up  his 
feet.  He  is  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth  and  of  all  that  therein 
is,  and  the  maker  of  whatsoever  is  ;  he  formed  the  company  of  the 
gods,  and  he  made  man  upon  his  potter's  wheel.  He  is  the  One 
god,  the  source  from  which  sprang  the  regions  on  high,  the 
primeval  architect,  the  maker  of  the  stars,  the  creator  of  the  gods, 
who  was  never  born,  and  the  begetter  or  maker  of  his  own  being, 
whom  no  man  can  understand  or  comprehend.  Many  other 
passages  in  the  inscriptions  at  Esna  ascribe  to  him  naturally  all 
the  powers  and  attributes2  of  Ptah.     Among  several  interesting 

1  Amelinean,  La  GeograpMe  de  I'HJgypte,  p.  501. 

2  For  the  enumeration  of  several  of  them  see  Brugsch,  Religion,  p.  504. 


KHNEMU-SHU  67 

addresses  to  the  god  may  be  mentioned  that  wherein  it  is  said, 
"  Thou  hast  raised  up  heaven  to  be  a  dwelling-place  for  thy  soul, 
"and  thou  didst  make  the  great  deep  that  it  might  serve  as  a 
"  hiding-place  for  thy  body."  Finally,  it  may  be  noted  that  as 
Khnemu-Shu  absorbed  the  attributes  of  Nu,  Ra,  Ptab,  Thoth,  etc., 
so  also  several  great  goddesses,  besides  those  already  mentioned, 
were  identified  with  his  female  counterparts,  e.g.,  Nut,  Net  (Neith), 
Nebuut,  etc. 


(     68     ) 


CHAPTER    IV 
ATEN,    (]*£*,    THE   GOD   AND   DISK   OF   THE   SUN 


I 


N  connexion  with  the  Sun-gods  of  Egypt  and  with  their 
various  forms  which  were  worshipped  in  that  country  must 
be  considered  the  meagre  facts  which  we  possess  concerning  Aten, 
who  appears  to  have  represented  both  the  god  or  spirit  of  the  sun, 
and  the  solar  disk  itself.  The  origin  of  this  god  is  wholly  obscure, 
and  nearly  all  that  is  known  about  him  under  the  Middle  Empire 
is  that  he  was  some  small  provincial  form  of  the  Sun-god  which 
was  worshipped  in  one  of  the  little  towns  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Heliopolis,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  temple  was  built  in  his  honour 
in  Heliopolis  itself.  It  is  idle  to  attempt  to  describe  the  attributes 
which  were  originally  ascribed  to  him  under  the  Middle  or  Early 
Empire,  because  the  texts  which  were  written  before  the  XVIIIth 
Dynasty  give  us  no  information  on  the  subject.  Under  the 
XVIIIth  Dynasty,  and  especially  during  the  reigns  of  Amen- 
hetep  III.  and  his  son  Amen-hetep  IV.,  he  was  made  to  usurp  all 
the  titles  and  attributes  of  the  ancient  solar  gods  of  Egypt,  Ra, 
Ra-Heru-khuti,  Horus,  etc.,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  they 
originally  belonged  to  him.  In  the  Theban  Recension  of  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead,  which  is  based  upon  the  Heliopolitan,  we 
find  Aten  mentioned  by  the  deceased  thus : — "  Thou,  0  Ra, 
"  shinest  from  the  horizon  of  heaven,  and  Aten  is  adored  when  he 
"  resteth  (or  setteth)  upon  this  mountain  to  give  life  to  the  two 
"lands."1  Hunefer  says  to  Ra,  "Hail,  Aten,  thou  lord  of  beams 
"  of  light,  [when]  thou  shinest  all  faces  (i.e.,   everybody)  live ;  " 

1  See   my    Chapters   of  Coming   Forth  by  Day   (Translation),   p.    7 ;    for  the 
passages  which  follow  see  the  Vocabulary,  s.v.  aten,  p.  48. 


ATEN    WORSHIP  69 

Nekht  says  to  Ra,  "  0  thou  beautiful  being,  thou  dost  renew 
"  thyself  and  make  thyself  young  again  under  the  form  of  Aten  ;  " 
Ani  says  to  Ra,  "Thou  turnest  thy  face  towards  the  Underworld, 
"  and  thou  makest  the  earth  to  shine  like  fine  copper.  The  dead 
"  rise  up  to  see  thee,  they  breathe  the  air  and  they  look  upon  thv 
"  face  when  Aten  shineth  in  the  horizon  ;  "  "  ....  I  have  come 
"  before  thee  that  I  may  be  with  thee  to  behold  thy  Aten  daily;  " 
"  0  thou  who  art  in  thine  Egg,  who  shinest  from  thy  Aten,"  etc. 

These  passages  show  that  Aten,  at  the  time  when  the  hymns 
from  which  they  are  taken  were  composed,  was  regarded  as  the 
material  body  of  the  sun  wherein  dwelt  the  god  Ra,  and  that  he 
represented  merely  the  solar  disk  and  was  the  visible  emblem  of 
the  great  Sun-god.  In  later  times,  owing  to  protection  afforded 
to  him  by  Amen-hetep  III.,  the  great  warrior  and  hunter  of  the 
XVIIIth  Dynasty,  other  views  were  promulgated  concerning  Aten, 
and  he  became  the  cause  of  one  of  the  greatest  religious  and  social 
revolutions  which  ever  convulsed  Egypt.  After  the  expulsion  of 
the  Hyksos,  Amen,  the  local  god  of  Thebes,  as  the  god  of  the 
victorious  princes  of  that  city,  became  the  head  of  the  company  of 
the  gods  of  Egypt,  and  the  early  kings  of  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty 
endowed  his  shrine  with  possessions,  and  gave  gifts  to  his  priest- 
hood with  a  lavish  hand.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  some  of  these 
kings  maintained  an  affection  for  the  forms  of  the  Sun-god  which 
were  worshipped  at  Heliopolis,  and  Thothmes  IV.,  it  will  be 
remembered,  dug  out  the  Sphinx  from  the  sand  which  had  buried 
him  and  his  temple,  and  restored  the  worship  of  Ra-Harmachis, 
and  he  was  not  the  only  monarch  who  viewed  with  dismay  the 
great  and  growing  power  of  the  priests  of  Amen-Ra,  the  "  king  of 
the  gods"  at  Thebes. 

Amen-hetep  III.,  the  son  of  Thothmes  IV.,  held  the  same 
views  as  his  father  in  this  respect,  and  he  was,  apparently,  urged  to 

give  effect  to  them  by  his  wife  Thi,  f  J  \\  ()(H ,  the  daughter  of  Iuaa, 

M  %  0  ~^\  ,  and  Thuau,  s=>  v\  ft  v\  J) ,  who  was  a  foreigner  and 
who  was  in  no  way  connected  with  the  royal  house  of  Egypt. 
Having  married  this  lady,  he  gave  her  as  dowry  the  frontier  city 
of  Tcharu,  — 3^  v\  )  ©,  and  her  natural  ability,  coupled  with  the 


70 


THI   AND   AMEN-HETEP   III. 


favour  of  her  husband,  made  her  chief  of  all  the  royal  wives,  and  a 
great  power  in  the  affairs  of  the  government  of  the  country.  It 
has  been  thought  by  some  that  she  was  a  native  of  the  country  near 
Heliopolis,  and  it  is  possible  that  she  herself  was  a  votary  of  Aten, 
but  be  that  as  it  may,  she  appears  to  have  supported  the  king  in 
his  determination  to  encourage  the  worship  of  this  god.  At  an 
early  period  in  his  reign  he  built  a  temple  in  honour  of  Aten  at 
Memphis,  and  later  he  built  one  at  Thebes,  quite  close  to  the  great 
sanctuary  of  Amen-Ra,  the  priests  of  whom  were,  of  course,  power- 


less to  resist  the  will  of  such  an  active  and  able  king. 


Soon  after 


The  beams  of  Aten  illumining  the  names  of  Khu-en-Aten  and  his  family. 

his  marriage  with  Thi,  Amen-hetep  III.  dug,  in  his  wife's  city  of 
Tcha.ru,  a  lake,  which  was  about  6000  feet  long  by  1000  feet  broad,1 
and  on  the  day  of  the  festival  when  the  water  was  allowed  to  flow 
into  it,  he  sailed  over  it  in  a  boat  called  "  Aten-neferu,"  (j  "^  T  IT, 
i.e.,  the  "  Beauties  of  Aten  ;  "  the  name  of  the  boat  is  a  clear  proof 
of  his  devotion  to  the  god  Aten.  Amen-hetep  IV.,  the  son  of 
Amen-hetep  III.  by  the  foreign  lady  Thi,  not  only  held  the 
religious  views  of  his  father,  but  held  them  very  strongly,  and  his 


1  (T\  ^^  "~-a 
its  breadth  600  cubits." 


«   U  ^=—   s>~- £>  <o<a,  i.e.,  "its  length  3600  cubits, 


AMEN-HETEP    IV.    (KHU-EN-ATEN)  71 

life  shows  that  he  must  have  been  from  his  youth  up  an  adherent 
of  the  worship  of  Aten ;  it  is  supposed,  and  with  much  probability, 
that  the  intensity  of  his  love  for  Aten  and  his  hatred  for  Amen-Ra 
were  due  to  his  mother's  influence. 

Amen-hetep  IV.  succeeded  his  father  without  difficulty,  even 
though  his  mother  was  not  a  member  of  the  royal  family  of  Egypt, 
and  for  the  first  few  years  of  his  reign  he  followed  the  example  of 
the  earlier  kings  of  his  dynasty,  and  lived  at  Thebes,  where  he  no 
doubt  ruled  according  to  his  mother's  wishes ;  he  offered  up 
sacrifices  to  Amen-Ra  at  the  appointed  seasons,  and  was,  outwardly 
at  least,  a  loyal  servant  of  this  god,  whose  name  formed  a  part 
of  his  name  as  "  son  of  the  Sun."  We  may  note  in  passing,  that 
he  had  adopted  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  the  title  "  Hio-h- 
"  priest  of  Ra-Heru-khuti,  the  exalted  one  in  the  horizon,  in  his 
"name  of  Shu  who  is  in  Aten,"  c]  y  u  mmm  t\§  ^jf  , —   <£h   , — 

.s  *—  _§^  [3  _p  O  0  xv  £=■  (j  "g*,  which  is  a  clear  proof  that 

he  was  not  only  a  worshipper  of  Ra-Harmachis,  another  of  the 
forms  of  the  Sun-god  of  Heliopolis,  but  also  that  he  endorsed  the 
views  and  held  the  opinions  of  the  old  College  of  Priests  at 
Heliopolis,  which  made  Shu  to  be  the  creator  of  the  gods,  and 
which  assigned  the  disk  (Aten)  to  him  for  a  dwelling-place. 
Amen-hetep' s  titles  as  lord  of  the  shrines  of  the  cities  of  Nekhebet 
and  Uatchet,1  and  as  the  Horus  of  gold  2  also  prove  his  devotion 
to  a  Sun-god  of  the  South  whose  attributes  were  the  same  as  the 
Sun-god  of  Heliopolis.     During  the  early   years  of  his  reign  at 

Thebes  he  built  a  massive  Benben,    J  "vww  J }  m  honour  of 

Rii-Harmachis  at  Thebes,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  took  the 
opportunity  of  restoring  or  enlarging  the  temple  of  Aten  which 
had  been  built  by  his  father ;  at  the  same  time  we  find  that  he 
worshipped  both  Amen  and  Aten,  the  former  in  his  official  position 
as  king,  and  the  latter  in  his  private  capacity.     It  was,  however, 

0 


1^\ 


I 


72  THE   CITY   KHUT-ATEN 

impossible  for  the  priests  of  Amen-Ra  to  tolerate  the  presence  of 
the  new  god  Aten  and  his  worship  in  Thebes,  and  the  relations 
between  the  king  and  that  powerful  body  soon  became  strained. 
On  the  one  hand  the  king  asserted  the  superiority  of  Aten  over 
every  god,  and  on  the  other  the  priests  declared  that  Amen-Ra 
was  the  king  of  the  gods.  As,  however,  Amen-Ra  was  the  centre 
of  the  social  life  of  Thebes,  and  his  priests  and  their  relatives 
included  in  their  number  the  best  and  greatest  families  of  the 
capital  city,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  king  found  himself  and  the 
worship  of  Aten  wholly  unsupported  by  the  great  mass  of  its 
population,  whose  sympathies  were  with  the  old  religion  of  Thebes, 
and  by  those  who  gained  their  living  in  connexion  with  the 
worship  of  Amen-Ra.  The  king  soon  realized  that  residence  in 
Thebes  was  becoming  impossible,  and  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign 
he  began  to  build  a  new  capital  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile,  near 
a  place  which  is  marked  to-day  by  the  Arab  villages  of  Haggi 
Kandil  and  Tell  el- Amarna ;  he  planned  that  it  should  include 
a  great  temple  to  Aten,  a  palace  for  the  king,  and  houses  for 
all  those  who  were  attached  to  the  worship  of  Aten  and  were 
prepared  to  follow  their  king  there. 

Whilst  the  new  capital  was  building  the  dispute  between  the 
king  and  the  priests  of  Amen-Ra  became  more  severe,  and  matters 
were  much  aggravated  by  Amen-hetep  IV.  when  he  promulgated 
the  edict  for  obliterating  the  name  of  Amen  and  his  figure  from 
every  monument  in  Egypt.  At  length  the  king  left  Thebes  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  his  new  capital,  which  he  called   "  Khut- 

Aten,"    ^    0  a^a,  i.e.,  "  Horizon  of  Aten,"  and  as  a  si«:n  of  the 

entire  severance  of  his  connexion  with  the  traditions  of  his  house 
in  respect  of  Amen-Ra  he  discarded  his  name  "  Amen-hetep  "  and 

called   himself  Khut-en-Aten    (^>J  —  (j  ~g*l,    i.e.,    "Glory   of 

Aten,"  or,  "  Spirit  of  Aten."  At  the  same  time  he  changed  his 
Horus  name  of  "  Exalted  One  of  the  double  plumes  "  to  "  Mighty 
Bull,  beloved  of  Aten  "  (or,  lover  of  Aten),  and  he  adopted  as  lord 
of  the  shrines  of  Nekhebet  and  Uatchet  the  title  of  "  Mighty  one 
of  sovereignty  in  Khut-Aten,"  and  as  the  Horus  of  gold  he  styled 
himself,  "  Exalter  of  the  name  of  Aten."     The  temple  of  Aten  at 


ATEN    WORSHIP 


73 


Khut-Aten  was,  like  that  at  Heliopolis,  called  Het  Benben, 
M    ^     J] AAAAAA  J  ■  a  name  which    probably  means   "House   of 

the  Obelisk ;  "  it  was  begun  on  a  very  large  scale,  but  was  never 
finished.  It  contained  many  altars  whereon  incense  was  burnt 
and  offerings  were  laid,  but  no  sacrifices  of  any  kind  were  offered 
up  on  them.     The  high-priest  of  Aten  assumed   the  title  of  the 

high-priest  of  Ra   at    Heliopolis,  Ur-maau,  ^*      ~p  "v\  0  >>  ^j  ? 

and  in  many  respects  the  new  worship  was  carried  on  at  Khut- 
Aten  by  means  of  many  of  the  old  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Heliopolitan  priesthood ; 
on  stated  occasions  the 
king  himself  officiated. 
The  worship  of  Aten  as 
understood  by  Amen- 
hetep  IV.  was,  however, 
a  very  different  thing 
from  the  ancient  wor- 
ship of  Aten,  for  whereas 
that  was  tolerant  the 
new  worship  was  not. 
It  is  clear  from  the  re- 
liefs which  have  been 
found  in  the  city  of 
Khut-Aten  that  Aten 
was  regarded  as  the  giver 
of  life,  and  the  source  of  all  life  on  this  earth,  and  that  his  symbols 
were  the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun  which  vivified  and  nourished 
all  creation.  Aten  was  also  the  one  physical  body  of  the  Sun,  and 
the  creed  of  Aten  ascribed  to  the  god  a  monotheistic  character  or 
oneness,  of  which  it  denied  the  existence  in  any  other  god.  This 
being  so,  the  new  religion  could  neither  absorb  nor  be  absorbed  by 
any  other;  similarly,  Aten  could  neither  absorb  nor  be  absorbed  by 
the  other  gods  of  Egypt,  because  he  had  nothing  in  common 
with  them.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  prove  that  the  Aten 
worship  resembled  that  of  the  monotheistic  worship  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  to  show  that  Aten  is  only  another  form  of  the  name 


Amcn-hetep  IV.  and  his  Wife  adoring  Aten. 


74 


HYMN   TO   ATEN 


Adon,  i.e.,  the  Phoenician  god  i*TN,  whom  the  Greeks  knew  as 
"a  Sams ;  but  as  far  as  can  be  seen  now  the  worship  of  Aten  was 
something  like  a  glorified  materialism,  which  had  to  be  expounded 
by  priests,  who  performed  ceremonies  similar  to  those  which 
belonged  to  the  old  Heliopolitan  sun-worship,  without  any  con- 
nexion whatsoever  with  the  worship  of  Yahweh,  and  a  being  of 
the  character  of  Adon,  the  local  god  of  Byblos,  had  no  place  in  it 
anywhere.  In  so  far  as  it  rejected  all  other  gods,  the  Aten 
religion  was  monotheistic,  but  to  judge  by  the  texts  which  describe 
the  power  and  works  of  Aten,  it  contained  no  doctrines  on  the 
unity  or  oneness  of  Aten  similar  to  those  which  are  found  in  the 


Amen-hetep  IV.  seated  on  his  throne  beneath  the  Disk. 

hymns  to  Ra,  and  none  of  the  beautiful  ideas  about  the  future  life, 
with  which  we  are  familiar  from  the  hymns  and  other  compositions 
in  the  Book  of  the  Dead. 

The  chief  source  of  our  knowledge  of  the  attributes  ascribed 
to  Aten  is  obtained  from  the  hymns  to  this  god  which  Amen- 
hetep  IV.  caused  to  be  inscribed  on  his  monuments,  and  from 
one  of  them  which  has  twice  been  published  in  recent  years l  we 

1  First  by  Bouriant  in  Memoires  cle  la  Mission,  torn,  i.,  pp.  2ff.,  and  later,  with 
numerous  corrections  of  Bouriant' s  text  and  a  running  commentary  by  Mr.  Breasted, 
in  Be  Hymnis  in  Solem  sub  rege  Amenopliide  IV.  conceptis,  Berlin  (no  date). 


HYMN   TO  i  ATEN  75 

obtain  the  following  extracts.  The  hymn  is  prefaced  by  these 
words : — 

"  1.  A  hymn  of  praise  to  Heru-khuti  (Harmachis),  who 
"  springeth  up  joyfully  in  the  horizon  in  his  name  of  '  Shu  who  is 
"  in  the  Disk,'  and  who  liveth  for  ever  and  for  ever,  Aten  the 
"  Living  One,  the  Great  One,  he  who  is  [celebrated]  in  the  thirty 

"  year  festival,  the  lord  of  the  orbit  (0  "^1    of  the  sun,  the  lord 

"  of  the  sun,  the  lord  of  heaven,  the  lord  of  earth,  the  lord  of  the 
"  House  of  Aten  in  the  city  of  Khut-Aten,  2.  by  the  king  of  the 
"  South  and  of  the  North,  who  liveth  by  Maat,  the  Lord  of  the  Two 

"  Lands,  f  Nefer-kheperu-Ra-ua-en-RajL1  the  son  of  the  Sun,  who 

"  liveth  by  Maat,  the  lord  of  crowns,  f  Khu-en-Aten  J,2  who  is  great 

"  in  the  duration  of  his  life,   3.  and  by  his  great  royal  wife,  his  darling, 

"  the  Lady   of  the  Two  Lands,   f  Nefert-iti,  Nefer-neferu-Aten V 

'*  the  living  one,  the  strong  one  for  ever."  The  hymn  proper 
begins  after  the  words,  "  He  (i.e.,  the  king)  saith,  4.  '  Thy  rising  is 
"  '  beautiful  in  the  horizon  of  heaven,  5.  0  thou  Aten,  who  hadst 
"  '  thine  existence  in  primeval  time.  6.  When  thou  risest  in  the 
"  '  eastern  horizon  thou  fillest  every  land  with  thy  beauties,  7.  thou 
"  '  art  beautiful  to  see,  and  art  great,  and  art  like  crystal,  and  art 
"  '  high  above  the  earth.  8.  Thy  beams  of  light  embrace  the  lands, 
"  '  even  every  land  which  thou  hast  made.  9.  Thou  art  as  Ra, 
"  '  and  thou  bringest  [thyself]  unto  each  of  them,  10.  and  thou 
"  '  bindest  them  with  thy  love.  11.  Thou  art  remote,  but  thy  beams 
"  '  are  upon  the  earth.  12.  So  long  as  thou  art  in  the  heavens  day 
"'  shall  follow  in  thy  footsteps.  13.  When  thou  settest  in  the 
u  '  western  horizon  the  earth  is  in  darkness,  and  is  like  a  being  that 
"'is  dead.  14.  They  lie  down  and  sleep  in  their  habitations, 
"  '  15.  their  heads  are  covered  up,  and  their  nostrils  are  stopped, 
"  '  and  no  man  can  see  his  neighbour,    16.   and  all  their  goods  and 

1  These  titles  mean  something  like,  "  Beauty  of  the  creations  of  Ra,  tbe  only 
one  of  Ra." 

-  I.e.,  "  Glory  of  Aten." 

3  The  proper  name  is  Nefert-iti,  and  her  title  means  "  Beauty  of  the  beanties 
of  Aten." 


76  HYMN   TO   ATEN 

"  '  possessions  may  be  carried  away  from  under  their  heads  without 
"  '  their  knowing  it.  17.  Every  lion  cometh  forth  from  his  den, 
"  '  18.  and  serpents  of  every  kind  bite;  19.  the  night  becometh 
"  '  blacker  and  blacker,  20.  and  the  earth  is  silent  because  he  who 
"  '  hath  made  them  hath  sunk  to  rest  in  his  horizon. 

"21.  When  thou  risest  in  the  horizon  the  earth  lightens,  and 
"  when  thy  beams  shine  forth  it  is  day.  22.  Darkness  taketh  to 
"  flight  as  soon  as  thy  light  bursteth  out,  and  the  Two  Lands  keep 
"  festival  daily.  23.  Then  [men]  wake  up  and  stand  upon  their 
"  feet  because  thou  hast  raised  them  up,  24.  they  wash  themselves, 
"  and  they  array  themselves  in  their  apparel,  25.  and  they  lift  up 
"  to  thee  their  hands  with  hymns  of  praise  because  thou  hast  risen. 
"  26.  [Over]  all  the  earth  they  perform  their  work.  27.  All  beasts 
"  and  cattle  repose  in  their  pastures,  28.  and  the  trees  and  the 
"  green  herb  put  forth  their  leaves  and  flowers.  29.  The  birds 
"  fly  out  of  their  nests,  and  their  wings  praise  thy  Ka  as  they  fly 
"  forth.  30.  The  sheep  and  goats  of  every  kind  skip  about  on 
"  their  legs,  31.  and  feathered  fowl  and  the  birds  of  the  air  also 
"  live  [because]  thou  hast  risen  for  them.  32.  The  boats  float 
"  down  and  sail  up  the  river  likewise,  33.  for  thy  path  is  opened 
"  when  thou  risest.  34.  The  fish  in  the  stream  leap  up  towards 
"  thy  face,  35.  and  thy  beams  shine  through  the  Avaters  of  the 
"  great  sea. 

"  36.  Thou  makest  male  seed  to  enter  into  women,  and  thou 
"  causest  the  liquid  seed  to  become  a  human  being.  37.  Thou 
"  makest  the  man  child  to  live  in  the  body  of  his  mother. 
"  38.  Thou  makest  him  to  keep  silent  so  that  he  cry  not,  39.  and 
"  thou  art  a  nurse  to  him  in  the  womb.  40.  Thou  givest  breath 
"  that  it  may  vivify  every  part  of  his  being.  41.  When  he  goeth 
"  forth  from  the  belly,  on  the  day  wherein  he  is  born,  42.  thou 
"  openest  his  mouth  that  he  may  speak,  43.  and  thou  providest 
"  for  him  whatsoever  is  necessary.  44.  When  the  chick  is  in  the 
"  the  egg,  and  is  making  a  sound  within  the  shell,  45.  thou  givest 
"  it  air  inside  it  so  that  it  may  keep  alive.  46.  Thou  bringest  it 
"  to  perfection  so  that  it  may  split  the  eggshell,  47.  and  it  cometh 
"  forth  from  the  egg  to  proclaim  that  it  is  a  perfect  chick, 
"  48.    and  as  soon    as    it   hath  come   forth  therefrom   it   runneth 


HYMN   TO   ATEN 


77 


"  about  on  its  feet.  49.  How  many  are  the  things  which  thou 
"  hast  created ! 

"  50.  There  were in  the  face  of  the  One  God,  and  his 

" had  rest.     51.  Thou  didst  create  the  earth  at  thy  will 

"  when  thou  didst  exist  by  thyself,  52.  and  men  and  women,  and 
"  beasts  and  cattle,  and  flocks  of  animals  of  every  kind,  53.  and 
11  every  thing  which  is  upon  the  earth  and  which  goeth  about  on 
"  its  feet,  54.  and  everything  which  is  in  the  air  above  and  which 
"  flieth  about  with  wings,    55.  and  the  land  of  Syria  and  Nubia, 


Amen-hetep  IV.  and  his  Wife  and  Daughter. 


"  and  Egypt.  56.  Thou  settest  every  man  in  his  place,  57.  and 
"  thou  makest  for  them  whatsoever  they  need.  58.  Thou  pro- 
"  videst  for  every  man  that  which  he  should  have  in  his  storehouse, 
"  and  thou  computest  the  measure  of  his  life.  59.  They  speak  in 
"  tongues  which  are  different  [from  each  other],  60.  and  their 
"  dispositions  (or  characteristics)  are  according  to  their  skins. 
"  61.  Thou  who  canst  discern  hast  made  the  difference  between 
"  the  dwellers  in  the  desert  to  be  discerned. 

"  Q2.  Thou  hast  made  Hapi  (i.e.,  the  Nile)  in  the  Tuat,  63.  and 


78  HYMN   TO   ATEN 

"  thou  bringest  him  on  according  to  thy  will  to  make  rational 
"  beings  to  live,  64.  inasmuch  as  thou  hast  made  them  for  thyself, 
"65.  0  thou  who  art  the  lord  of  all  of  them,  and  who  dost  remain 
"  with  them.  66.  Thou  art  the  lord  of  every  (?)  land,  and  thou 
"shinest  upon  them,  67.  thou  art  Aten  of  the  day,  and  art 
"  revered  in  every  foreign  land  (?),  68.  and  thou  makest  their 
"  lives.  69.  Thou  makest  Hapi  in  heaven  to  come  down  to  them, 
"  70.  and  he  maketh  his  rushing  waters  to  flow  over  the  hills  like 
"the  great  green  sea.  71.  and  they  spread  themselves  abroad 
"  and  water  the  fields  of  the  people  in  their  villages.  72.  Thy 
"  plans  (or,  counsels)  are  doubly  beneficent.  73.  Thou  art  the 
"  Lord  of  eternity,  and  thou  thyself  art  the  Nile  in  heaven,  and 
"  all  foreign  peoples  and  all  the  beasts  on  all  the  hills  74.  go  about 
"on  their  feet  [through  thee].  75.  Hapi  (i.e.,  the  Nile)  cometh 
"  from  the  Tuat  to  Egypt,  76.  and  thou  givest  sustenance  to  its 
"  people  and  to  every  garden,  and  77.  [when]  thou  hast  risen  they 
"  live  for  thee. 

"  78.  Thou  hast  made  the  seasons  of  the  year  so  that  they 
"  may  cause  the  things  which  thou  hast  made  to  bring  forth, 
"  79.  the  winter  season  bringeth  them  cold,  and  the  summer 
"  season  fiery  heat.  80.  Thou  hast  created  the  heavens  which  are 
"  far  extending  that  thou  mayest  rise  therein  and  mayest  be  able 
"  to  look  upon  all  which  thou  didst  create  when  thou  didst  exist 
"  by  thyself,  81.  and  thou  dost  rise  in  thy  creations  as  the  living 
"  Aten,  82.  and  thou  dost  rise,  and  dost  shine,  and  dost  depart  on 
"  thy  path,  and  dost  return.  83.  Thou  didst  create  [the  forms] 
"  of  created  things  in  thyself  when  thou  didst  exist  alone.  84. 
"  Cities,  towns,  villages  and  hamlets,  roads  and  river[s],  85.  from 
"  these  every  eye  looketh  upon  thee,  86.  for  thou  art  the  Aten  of 
"  the  day  and  art  above  the  earth.     87.  Thou  journeyest  through 

"  that  which   existeth    in   thine   Eye.     88 89. 

"  Thou  art  in  my  heart,    90.  and  none  knoweth  thee  except  thy 


"  son  f  Nefer-kheperu-Ra-ua-en-Ra  J,  91.  and  thou  makest  him  to 

"  be  wise  and  understanding  through  thy  counsels  and  through 
"  thy  strength.  92.  The  earth  is  in  thy  hand,  inasmuch  as  thou 
"  hast  made  them  (i.e.,  those  in  it).     93.  When  thou  risest  man- 


HYMN   TO   ATEN  79 

"  kind  live  ;  and  when  thou  settest  they  die.  94.  As  lono-  as  thou 
"  art  in  the  sky  they  live  in  thee,  95.  and  the  eyes  of  all  are  upon 
"  thy  beauties  until  thou  settest,  96.  and  they  set  aside  their 
"  work  of  every  kind  when  thou  settest  in  the  west.     97.  Thou 

"  risest   and    thou   makest    to    grow for    the   kino-. 

"98 from  the  time  when  thou  didst  lay  the  foundations 

"  of  the  earth,  99.  and  thou  didst  raise  them  up  for  thy  son  who 
"  proceeded  from  thy  members."  [Here  follow  two  lines  wherein 
the  names  and  titles  of  the  king  are  repeated.] 

The  above  version  of  the  hymn  to  Aten  will  serve  to  illustrate 
the  views  held  by  the  king  and  his  followers  about  this  god,  and 
may  be  compared  with  the  hymns  to  Ra,  which  are  quoted  in  the 
section  on  the  forms  of  the  Sun-god,  when  it  will  be  seen  that 
many  of  the  most  important  characteristics  of  hymns  to  sun-gods 
are  wanting.  There  is  no  mention  of  enemies  or  of  the  fiends,  Apep, 
Sebau,  and  Nak,  who  were  overcome  by  Ra  when  he  rose  in  the 
eastern  horizon ;  no  reference  is  made  to  Khepera,  or  to  the 
services  which  Thoth  and  Maat  were  believed  to  render  to  him 
daily ;  and  the  frequent  allusions  to  the  Matet  and  Sektet  Boats 
in  which  Ra  was  thought  to  make  his  journey  over  the  sky  are 
wholly  omitted.  The  old  myths  which  had  grown  up  about  Ra 
are  ignored,  and  the  priests  of  Aten  proclaimed  with  no  uncertain 
voice  the  unity  of  their  god  in  terms  which  provoked  the  priests 
of  Amen  to  wrath.  Aten  had  existed  for  ever,  they  said,  he  was 
beautiful,  glorious,  and  self-existent,  he  had  created  the  sun  and 
his  path,  and  heaven,  and  earth,  and  every  living  being  and  thing 
therein,  and  he  maintained  the  life  in  man  and  beast,  and  fed  all 
creatures  according  to  his  plans,  and  he  determined  the  duration 
of  their  life.  Everything  came  from  Aten,  and  everything 
depended  upon  him ;  he  was,  moreover,  everlasting.  From  the 
absence  of  any  mention  of  the  "  gods  "  or  of  the  well-known  great 
gods  of  Egypt  it  is  evident  that  they  wished  to  give  a  monotheistic 
character  to  the  worship  of  Aten,  and  it  was,  manifestly,  this 
characteristic  of  it  which  made  the  king  and  his  god  detested  at 
Thebes ;  it  accounts  for  the  fact  that  Amen-hetep  IV.  felt  it  to  be 
necessary  to  build  a  new  capital  for  himself  and  his  god,  and 
supplies  us  with  the  reason  why  he  did  not  settle  in  one  of  the 


80  ATEN    WORSHIP 

ancient  religious  centres  of  his  kingdom.  We  should  expect  that, 
as  he  styled  himself  the  high-priest  of  Heru-khuti  (i.e.,  Harmachis), 
he  would  have  taken  up  his  abode  in  Memphis  or  Heliopolis, 
where  this  god  was  greatly  honoured,  but  as  he  did  not,  we  are 
driven  to  conclude  that  there  was  in  the  worship  of  Aten  and  in 
the  doctrines  of  his  priests  something  which  could  neither  brook 
nor  tolerate  the  presence  of  another  god,  still  less  of  other 
gods,  and  that  that  something  must  have  been  of  the  nature  of 
monotheism. 

Now  although  the  hymn  quoted  above  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
views  held  by  Amen-hetep  IV.  and  his  adherents  concerning 
Aten,  it  is  impossible  to  gather  from  it  any  very  precise  imforma- 
tion  about  the  details  of  the  belief  or  doctrine  of  Aten,  but  it  is 
clear  that  in  practice  the  religion  was  of  a  sensuous  character,  and 
eminently  materialistic.  Incense  was  burnt  freely  several  times 
in  the  day,  and  the  hymns  sung  to  Aten  were  accompanied  by  the 
sounds  of  the  music  of  harps  and  other  instruments,  and  the  people 
vied  with  each  other  in  bringing  gifts  of  fruit,  and  flowers,  and 
garden  produce  to  lay  on  the  altars  which  were  never  drenched 
with  the  blood  of  animals  offered  up  for  sacrifice.  The  worship  of 
Aten  was  of  a  joyous  character,  and  the  surroundings  among 
which  it  was  carried  on  were  bright  and  cheerful.  The  mural 
decorations  in  the  temple  were  different  from  those  of  the  older 
temples  of  Egypt,  for  they  were  less  severe  and  less  conventional, 
and  they  were  painted  in  lively  colours;  in  fact,  the  artists 
employed  by  Amen-hetep  IV.  threw  off  many  of  the  old  trammels 
of  their  profession,  and  indulged  themselves  in  new  designs,  new 
forms,  new  colours,  and  new  treatment  of  the  subjects  which  they 
wished  to  represent.  We  may  see  from  the  remains  of  their  wall 
decorations  that  the  artists  of  the  city  of  Khut-Aten  made  one 
great  step  in  advance,  that  is  to  say,  they  introduced  shading  into 
their  painting,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  it  was  retraced 
later ;  it  was  only  during  the  reign  of  Amen-hetep  IV.  that  the 
Egyptian  artist  ever  showed  that  he  understood  the  effects  of  light 
and  shade  in  his  work.  The  texts  and  inscriptions  which  were 
placed  upon  the  walls  relate  to  the  glory  and  majesty  and 
beneficence  of  Aten,  and  everywhere  are  seen  representations  of 


ATEN    WORSHIP  81 

the  visible  emblem  of  the  god.  The  form  in  which  he  is  depicted 
is  that  of  the  solar  disk,  from  which  proceed  rays,  the  ends  of 

which   terminate    in   hands  wherein  are  the  emblems  of  life,  ■¥•> 

and  sovereignty,  0;  in  the  bas-reliefs  and  frescoes  we  see  these 
human-handed  rays  shining  upon  the  king,  and  his  queen  and 
family,  and  upon  the  cartouches  containing  the  names  of  himself 
and  of  his  queen  Nefert-ith.  The  simple  interpretation  of  such 
scenes  is  that  the  sun  is  the  source  of  all  life  and  of  everything 
which  supports  it  upon  earth,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  so-called 
Aten  heresy  was  in  some  way  founded  upon  the  views  which  the 
Atenites  held  about  this  method  of  representing  their  god.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  Amen-hetep  IV.  loved  to  be  depicted  with  the 
human-handed  rays  falling  upon  him,  and  whatever  his  doctrines 
of  Aten  were  he  preached  them  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  an 
Oriental  fanatic,  and  on  special  occasions  he  himself  officiated  as 
high-priest  of  the  cult.  The  wisdom  of  his  policy  is  open  to 
doubt,  but  there  is  no  reason  for  regarding  him  as  anything  but 
an  earnest  and  honest  propagandist  of  a  new  creed. 

Now,  as  the  king  changed  his  religion  and  his  name,  so  he 
also  caused  his  own  form  and  figure  when  represented  in  bas- 
reliefs  to  be  changed.  In  the  earlier  monuments  of  his  reign  he  is 
depicted  as  possessing  the  typical  features  of  his  father  and  of 
others  of  his  ancestors,  but  at  Tell  el-Amarna  his  physical 
characteristics  are  entirely  different.  Here  he  is  portrayed  with 
a  very  high,  narrow,  and  receding  forehead,  a  large,  sharp, 
aquiline  nose,  a  thin,  weak  mouth,  and  a  large  projecting  chin, 
and  his  head  is  set  upon  a  long  and  extremely  slender  neck  ; 
his  chest  is  rounded,  his  stomach  inflated,  his  thighs  are  large  and 
broad,  and  in  many  respects  his  figure  resembles  that  of  a  woman. 
It  is  impossible  that  such  representations  of  the  king  would 
be  permitted  to  appear  in  bas-reliefs  in  his  city  unless  he 
approved  of  them,  and  it  is  clear  that  he  did  approve,  and 
that  his  officials  understood  that  he  approved  of  this  treatment 
of  his  person  at  the  hands  of  sculptors  and  artists,  for  some 
of  the  high  officials  were  themselves  represented  in  the  same 
manner.  Still,  some  of  the  drawings  of  the  king  must  be 
II — G 


82  AMEN-HETEP   IV. 

regarded   as    caricatures,    but   whether    intentional   or   otherwise 
cannot  be  said. 

For  a  few  years  Amen-hetep  IV.  led  a  life  of  great  happiness 
and  enjoyment  in  his  new  capital,  and  his  whole  time  seems  to 
have  been  passed  in  adorning  it  with  handsome  buildings,  fine 
sculptures,  and  large  gardens  filled  Avith  trees  and  plants  of  every 
kind ;  he  appears  to  have  bestowed  gifts  Avith  a  lavish  hand  upon 
his  favourites,  who  it  must  be  admitted,  were  his  officials  who 
seconded  his  wishes  and  gave  effect  to  them.  Life  at  Khut-Aten 
was  joyous,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  men  troubled 
themselves  with  thoughts  about  death  or  the  kingdom  of  Osiris ; 
if  they  did,  they  made  no  mention  of  them  in  their  hymns  and 
inscriptions. 

On  the  other  hand  Amen-hetep   IV.   did  not,  or  could  not, 

abolish   the    characteristic    funeral   customs    and    beliefs    of    his 

country,  and  the  tombs  of  the  adherents  of  Aten  bear  witness  to 

the  fact.     The  king  caused  a  tomb  to  be  hewn  out  of  the  rock  in 

the  mountains  near  the  town,  on  its  eastern  side,  and  it  contained, 

when   discovered  in  1892  by  the  natives,  the   things  which   are 

usually  found  in  tombs  of  men  of  high  rank.     The  sarcophagus 

was  broken  in  pieces,  but  scattered  about  the  mummy-chamber 

and  along  the  corridor  which  led  to  it  were  numbers  of  objects  and 

fragments  of  objects  made  of  the  beautiful  purple  and  blue  glazed 

faience  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  reign  of  Amen-hetep  IV. 

The  body  of  the  king  must  have  been  mummified,  and  on  it  must 

have  been  laid  the  same  classes  of  amulets  that  are  found  on  the 

royal  mummies  at  Thebes.     Portions  of  several  granite  ushabtiu 

figures  were  also  found,  a  fact  which  shows  that  those  who  buried 

the   king  assumed  he  would  enjoy   a  somewhat  material  life   in 

Sekhet-hetepet  and  Sekhet-Aarru  in  the  kingdom  of  Osiris.     That 

Amen-hetep  IV.  thought  little  about  his  death  and  burial  is  proved 

by  the  state  of  his  tomb,  which  shows  that  he  made  no  attempt  to 

prepare  it  for  the  reception  of  his  body  when  the  need  should 

arise.     This  is  the  more  strange  because  he  had  caused  his  eldest 

daughter  A  ten-merit,  f\  ^^  "^x.  (1  (1  <=>  Jj ,  to  be  buried  in  it,  and 

he  must  have  known  from  sad  experience  what  great  preparations 


AMEN-HETEP   IV.  83 

had  to  be  made,  and  what  complicated  ceremonies  had  to  be  per- 
formed when  a  royal  personage  was  laid  to  rest.  The  tombs  of 
the  adherents  of  Aten  are  very  disappointing  in  many  ways, 
though  they  possess  an  interest  peculiar  to  themselves.  From  the 
scenes  painted  on  their  walls  it  is  possible  to  obtain  an  idea  of  the 
class  of  buildings  which  existed  in  the  city  of  Khut-Aten,  and  of 
the  arrangements  of  its  streets  and  gardens,  and  of  the  free  manner 
in  which  the  various  members  of  the  royal  family  moved  about 
among  the  people.  The  king's  tomb  was  never  finished,  and  the 
remains  of  the  greater  number  of  the  paintings  on  its  walls  show 
that  they  were  executed  not  for  him  but  for  his  eldest  daughter, 
who  has  already  been  mentioned ;  the  chief  subject  chosen  for 
illustration  is  the  worship  of  Aten,  and  both  the  scenes  and  the 
texts  accompanying  them  represented  that  the  god  was  adored  by 
every  nation  in  the  world. 

It  is,  unfortunately,  not  known  how  old  the  king  was  when  he 
died,  but  he  must  have  been  a  comparatively  young  man,  and  his 
reign  could  not  have  been  so  long  as  twenty  years.  In  the  ten  or 
twelve  years  of  it  which  he  lived  at  Khut-Aten  he  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  the  building  of  his  new  capital  and  the  development  of 
the  cult  of  Aten,  and  meanwhile  the  general  condition  of  Egypt 
was  going  from  bad  to  worse,  the  governors  of  Egyptian  possessions 
in  Syria  and  Palestine  were  quarrelling  among  themselves,  strong 
and  resolute  rebels  had  risen  up  in  many  parts  of  these  countries, 
and  over  and  above  all  this  the  infuriated  jDriesthood  of  Anien-Ra 
were  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  restore  the  national  god  to  his 
proper  place,  and  to  set  upon  the  throne  a  king  who  would 
forward  the  interests  of  their  brotherhood.  This  opportunity  came 
with  the  death  of  Amen-hetep  IV.,  when  Tut-ankh-Amen,  a  son  of 
Amen-hetep  III.  by  a  concubine,  ascended  the  throne  ;  he  married 
a  daughter  of  Amen-hetep  IV.,  who  was  called  Ankh-s- en-pa- Aten, 
but  she  changed  her  name  into  Ankh-s-en-Amen,  and  both  the  new 
king  and  queen  were  worshippers  of  the  great  god  of  Thebes. 
Tut-ankh-Amen  at  once  began  to  restore  the  name  and  figure  of 
Amen  which  his  father-in-law  had  cut  out  from  the  monuments, 
and  began  to  build  at  Thebes  ;  very  soon  after  his  accession  he 
came  ito    terms   with   the   priests    of   Amen,   and    in    due    course 


84  AMEN-HETEP   IV. 

removed  his  court  to  the  old  capital.  On  the  death  of  Tut-ankh- 
Amen,  a  "superintendent  of  the  whole  stud  of  Pharaoh"  of  the 
name  of  Ai  ascended  the  throne  by  virtue  of  his  marriage  with 
Thi,  who  was  in  some  way  related  to  the  family  of  Amen-hetep  IV. ; 
before  Ai  became  king  he  was  a  follower  of  Aten,  and  built  him- 
self a  tomb  at  Khut-Aten,  which  was  ornamented  after  the  manner 
of  those  of  the  adherents  of  this  god,  but  as  soon  as  he  had  taken 
up  his  abode  at  Thebes  and  begun  to  reign  over  Egypt  he  built 
another  tomb  in  the  Valley  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  at  Thebes. 

The  decoration  of  the  sarcophagus  which  he  placed  in  the 
latter  tomb  makes  it  quite  certain  that  when  he  made  it  he  had 
rejected  the  cult  of  Aten,  and  that  he  was,  at  all  events  outwardly, 
a  loyal  follower  of  the  god  Amen-Ra.  On  the  death  of  Ai  several 
pretenders  to  the  throne  rose  up  in  Egypt,  and  a  period  of  anarchy 
followed.  Of  the  details  of  the  history  of  this  period  nothing  is 
known,  and  the  only  certain  fact  about  it  is  that  the  power  of  the 
XVIIIth  Dynasty  was  broken,  and  that  its  downfall  was  certain. 
During  the  reigns  of  Tut-ankh-Amen  and  Ai  the  prosperity  of  the 
city  Khut-Aten  declined  rapidly,  and  as  soon  as  the  period  of 
anarchy  which  followed  their  reigns  began  its  population  left  it, 
little  by  little,  and  its  downfall  was  assured ;  the  artists  and  work- 
men of  all  kinds  who  had  obtained  work  there  under  Amen-hetep 
found  their  occupation  gone,  and  they  departed  to  Thebes  and  the 
other  cities  whence  they  had  come.  Under  the  reign  of  Heru-em- 
heb  the  decay  of  the  city  advanced  and  it  became  generally 
deserted,  and  very  soon  after  men  came  from  far  and  near  to  carry 
off,  for  building  purposes,  the  beautiful  white  limestone  blocks 
which  were  in  the  temple  and  houses.  Heru-em-heb  was  the 
nominee  of  the  priests  of  Amen-Ra,  and  he  used  all  his  power  and 
influence  to  stamp  out  every  trace  of  the  worship  of  Aten,  and 
succeeded.  Thus  Amen-Ra  conquered  Aten,  Thebes  once  more 
became  the  capital  of  Egypt,  the  priests  of  Amen  regained  their 
ascendancy,  and  in  less  than  twenty-five  years  after  the  death  of 
Amen-hetep  IV.  his  city  was  deserted,  the  sanctuary  of  his  god 
was  desecrated,  his  followers  were  scattered,  and  his  enemies  were 
in  undisputed  possession  of  the  country. 


(     85     ) 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    GREAT   COMPANY    OF   THE   GODS    OF 
HELIOPOLIS 

A  PERUSAL  of  the  Pyramid  Texts  reveals  the  fact  that  the 
priests  of  Heliopolis  believed  in  the  existence  of  three 
companies  of  gods,  and  that  to  each  company  they  assigned  at 
least  nine  gods  ;  in  certain  cases  a  company  contained  eleven, 
twelve,  or  more  gods.  In  the  text  of  Unas  (line  222  if.)  we  find 
a    series    of  addresses    to    Ra-Tem,    wherein   are    mentioned    Set 

and  Nephthys,  ^J?     ^   ,  Osiris,    Isis,    and    Her-hepes,      E    ,  JJ , 


*    |         ,  Thoth,    Anubis,    and    Usert,    ^%,  ~^'    I  '    anc^ 

Horns,  which  seems  to  show  that  one  company  of  gods,  of  which  the 
dual  god  Ra-Tem  was  the  head,  consisted  of  Set,  Nephthys,  Her- 
hepes,  Osiris,  Isis,  Thoth,  Anubis,  Usert,  and  Horus,  i.e.,  in  all  ten 
gods.  In  the  next  section  but  one  of  the  same  king's  text  (line  240  f.) 
the  Great  Company  of  the  gods  of  Heliopolis  are  declared  to  be  : — 

I.Tem,  ^.  2.  Shu,  Poa^.  3.  Tefnut,  gfL.  4.  Seb,  1g*J. 
5.    Nut,  °.      6.    Isis,  i .      7.    Set,  >$_j.      8.    Nephthys, 


9.  Thoth,  a  >^.     10.  Horus,  v^.     Here  again  we  have  ten  gods 

assigned  to  the  divine  company,  but  curiously  enough  the  name  of 
Osiris,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  gods,  is  omitted.  Follow- 
ing these  ten  names  comes  an  address  to  the  "  Great  Company  of 

the    Gods,"  c  ^^,   which    clearly  refers    to    the   gods 

whose  names  we  have  mentioned.  In  the  text  of  Pepi  II. 
(line  665),  the  gods  who  are  declared  to  form  "  the  Great  Company 
of  the  gods  who  are  in  Annu"  are: — 1.  Tem.     2.  Shu.     3.  Tefnut. 

4.  Seb.      5.  Nut.      6.    Osiris.      7.   Isis.      8.  Set,  [1  c     ,  and  9. 


86  GODS    OF   HELIOPOLIS 

Nephthys,  ^] ,  and  they  are  called  the  "  offspring  of  Tern,  who 
"  made  wide  his  heart  when  he  gave  them  birth  in  your  name  of 
"  '  Nine.'  '51  A  few  lines  lower  down  the  king  makes  a  petition  to 
the  "  Great  Company  of  the  gods  who  are  in  Annu,"  and  he 
includes  in  it  the  names  of  Tem,  Shu,  Tefnut,  Seb,  Nut,  Osiris, 
Osiris-Khent-Amenti,  Set  of  Ombos,  Heru  of  Edfu,2  Ra,  Khent- 
Maati,3  and  Uatchet  ;  thus  the  Great  Company  of  the  gods  of 
Heliopolis  may  contain  either  nine  or  twelve  gods.  In  several 
passages  in  the  Pyramid  Texts  two  groups  or  companies  of  gods, 
eighteen  in  number,  are  mentioned ;  thus  in  the  text  of 
Mer-en-Ra,  line  453,  allusion  is  made  to  the  "very  great 
"  eighteen  gods  who  are  at  the  head  of  the  Souls  of  Annu,"  but 
these,  clearly,  include  the  Great  Company  and  the  Little  Company, 
who  are  addressed  on  behalf  of  the  deceased  in  the  text  of  Unas, 
lines  251,  252. 

The  triple   Company  to   which   allusion    is  sometimes  made, 

nmninmrnmnmrn  <t^>  «-  ^  *-  *-- 

bably  supposed  to  include  the  Great  Company  of  the  gods  of 
heaven,  the  Little  Company  of  the  gods  of  earth,  and  the  Company 
of  the  gods  of  the  Underworld,  but  from  many  passages  it  is 
evident  that  the  Great  and  Little  Companies  represented  to  the 
Egyptian,  for  all  practical  purposes,  the  whole  of  the  gods  whom 
he  attempted  to  worship.  The  priests  of  the  provincial  cities  and 
towns  adopted  by  degrees  the  more  important  of  the  views  of  the 
Heliopolitan  priesthood  concerning  the  Egyptian  cosmogony  and 
theogony,  and  as  they  were  able  to  identify  their  local  gods  with 
Temu,  or  Ra-Tem,  the  head  of  the  Heliopolitan  Company  of  gods, 
and  with  the  members  of  his  company  to  whom  their  attributes 
were  most  akin,  no  serious  opposition  appears  to  have  been  offered 
by  them  to  the  tenets  of  the  great  religious  centre  of  Heliopolis. 
The  priests  of  this  city  were  prudent  enough  to  include  as  forms  of 
the  gods  of  their  divine  companies  the  great  ancient  gods  and 
goddesses  of  the  South  and  the  North,  as  well  as  a  number  of 


/www 

/WWW       /WWW 


TEM,    SHU,    TEFNUT  87 

lesser  gods  whose  worship  was  quite  local,  and  in  this  way  they 
succeeded  in  causing  their  doctrines  to  be  accepted  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Egypt,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  great 
theological  system  of  Thebes  under  the  Middle  and  New  Empires 
was  based  entirely  upon  that  of  Heliopolis.  We  have  now  to 
describe  the  attributes  of  the  gods  of  the  Great  Company,  which 
for  convenience  may  be  assumed  to  consist  of  the  folio  win  «■  : — 
Tern,  Shu,  Tefnut,  Seb,  Nut,  Osiris,  Isis,  Set,  and  Nephthys. 

1.  Tem  *ac,  or 

Tem  was  a  form  of  the  Sun-god,  and  was  the  great  local  god 
of  Annu,  and  the  head  of  the  company  of  gods  of  that  place.     His 

name    is   connected    with    the    root    tem,   ^^  t\    •  ,    or  temem, 

tar  _M*  _B^  }  '  " to  ^e  compleW  "  to  make  an  end  of,"  and  he 
was  regarded  as  the  form  of  the  Sun-god  which  brought  the  day  to 
an  end,  i.e.,  as  the  evening  or  night  sun.  He  is  always  depicted 
in  the  human  form.  The  attributes  of  the  god  have  been  already 
described  in  the  section  which  treats  of  the  forms  of  the  Sun- 
god  Ra. 


2.SHn,pm^,orp^,orP!jy,orQ[y. 

3.  Tefnut,  f-  |. 

Shu  and  his  female  counterpart  Tefnut  may  be  considered 
together,  because  they  are  usually  mentioned  together,  at  all  events 
in  the  texts  of  the  later  periods.  The  name  Shu  appears  to  be 
derived  from  the  root  shu,  G@jR,  "dry,  parched,  withered, 
empty,"  and  the  like,  and  the  name  Tefnut  must  be   connected 

C±  jJ~rfD    /WWW  ^^j-^j    /WW\A 

with  the  root   tef,  f      a^ww?  or  teftef,  ^^ww,  "to  spit, 

be  moist,"  and  the  like ;  thus  Shu  was  a  god  who  was  connected 
with  the  heat  and  dryness  of  sunlight  and  with  the  dry  atmosphere 
which  exists  between  the  earth  and  the  sky,  and  Tefnut  was  a 
personification   of   the   moisture   of    the   sky,    and   made    herself 


88  SHU   AND   TEFNUT 

manifest  in  various  forms.  The  oldest  legend  about  the  origin  of 
the  gods  is  contained  in  the  text  of  Pepi  I.,  wherein  it  is  said 
(line  465)  that  once  upon  a  time  Tern  went  to  the  city  of  Annu  and 
that  he  there  produced  from  his  own  body  by  the  irregular  means 
of  masturbation  his  two  children  Shu  and  Tefhut.  In  this  crude 
form  the  myth  is  probably  of  Libyan  origin,  and  it  suggests  that  its 
inventors  were  in  a  semi-savage,  or  perhaps  wholly  savage,  state 
when  it  was  first  promulgated.  In  later  times,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  the  Egyptians  appear  to  have  rejected  certain  of  the  details 
of  the  myth,  or  to  have  felt  some  difficulty  in  believing  that  Shu 
and  Tefhut  were   begotten  and   conceived  and  brought  forth  by 

Tern,  and  they  therefore  assumed  that  his  shadow,     Ti,  hhaibit, 

acted  the  part  of  wife  to  him ;  another  view  was  that  the  goddess 
Iusaaset  was  his  wife.1 

The  old  ideas  about  the  origin  of  the  twin  gods,  however, 
maintained  their  position  in  the  minds  of  the  Egyptians,  and  we 
find  them  categorically  expressed  in  some  of  the  hymns  addressed 
to  Amen-Ra,  who  under  the  New  Empire  was  identified  with  Tern, 
just  as  at  an  earlier  period  Ra  was  identified  with  the  same  god. 
In  two  hymns  quoted  by  Brugsch 2  we  have  the  following : — 
"  0  Amen-Ra,  the  gods  have  gone  forth  from  thee.  What  flowed 
"  forth  from  thee  became  Shu,  and  that  which  was  emitted  by  thee 
"  became  Tefhut ;  thou  didst  create  the  nine  gods  at  the  beginning 
"  of  all  things,  and  thou  wast  the  Lion-god  of  the  Twin  Lion-gods," 

Q     _2i£  J]  fiZj  i  J\  nj .      The  Twin  Lion-gods  are,  of  course, 

Shu  and  Tefnut,  who  are  mentioned  in  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  in 
several  passages.4     In  the  second    hymn  to   Amen-Ra  it  is  said, 

1  In  the  passage   referred  to   the  opening  words    are,   "  Tern  came   to  take 
pleasure  in  himself,"  J\     I  \h  f^\   iu  s«,  and  M.  Maspero  thinks  that  the  name 


of   the  goddess   Iusaaset,    J\   v\  <>-=-       M ,   may  be  derived   from  them.      See 

La  Mythologies  Hgyptienne,  p.  247. 

2  Religion,  p.  422.  3  Brugsch,  Beise,  pi.  26,  1.  26. 

h  (1(1  <jj  y  see  the  list  of  passages  given  in  my  Vocabulary  to  the  Boole  of 
the  Dead,  pp.  197,  198. 


The    God    SHU. 


SHU   AND   TEFNUT  89 

"  Thou  art  the  One  God,  who  didst  form  thyself  into  two  gods, 
"  thou  art  the  creator  of  the  Egg,  and  thou  didst  produce  thy 
"  Twin-Gods."  In  connexion  with  the  production  of  Shu  and 
Tefnut  Dr.  Brugsch  refers  to  the  well-known  origin  of  the  gods  of 
Taste  and  Feeling,  Hu,  8  v\  ^  Jn,  and  Sa,  sb  *\\  Jn,  who  are 
said  to  have  sprung  into  being  from  the  drops  of  blood  which  fell 
from  the  phallus  of  Ra,  and  to  have  taken  up  their  places  among 
the  gods  who  were  in  the  train  of  Ra,  and  who  were  with  Temu 
every  day.1     (Booh  of  Hip  Dead,  xvii.  62). 

Shu  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a  man  who  wears  upon  his 
head  one  feather,  f) ,  or  two,  [1] ,  or  four,  tHjj. ;  the  phonetic  value 
of  the  sign  \\  is  shu,  and  the  use  of  it  as  the  symbol  of  the  god's 
name  seems  to  indicate  some  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Egyptians  to 
connect  the  word  shu,  or  shdu,  "feather,"  with  shu,  "light,  empty 
space,  dryness,"  etc.  As  the  god  of  the  space  which  exists 
between  the  earth  and  the  sky,  Shu  was  represented  under  the 
form  of  a  god  who  held  up  the  sky  with  his  two  hands,  one 
supporting  it  at  the  place  of  sunrise,  and  the  other  at  the  place  of 
sunset,  and  several  porcelain  figures  exist  in  which  he  is  seen 
kneeling  upon  one  knee,  in  the  act  of  lifting  up  with  his  two 
hands  the  sky  with  the  solar  disk  in  it.  When  Shu  wears  no 
feather  he  bears  upon  his  head  the  figure  of  the  hind-quarter  of  a 
lion  Jg),  peh;  in  mythological  scenes  we  find  him  both  seated  and 
standing,  aud  he  usually  holds  in  one  hand  the  sceptre  j,  and  in 

the  other  •¥■ .  In  a  picture  given  by  Lanzone 2  he  grasps  in  his 
left  hand  a  scorpion,  a  serpent,  and  a  hawk-headed  sceptre.  The 
goddess  Tefnut  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  who  wears 
upon  her  head  the  solar  disk  encircled  by  a  serpent,  and  holds  in 
her  hands  the  sceptre  I,  and  -r;  she,  however,  often  appears  with 
the  head  of  a  lioness,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  uraeus,  and  she  is 
sometimes  depicted  in  the  form  of  a  lioness. 


1       AAA/WV 

4                         '             l— J           Xk*s*  "**    ■     — '                 W^fcX                 I)        /vwvv\     i                v<w           0\r"                                                       n 

*^-_      1  I  Jl  J\  Jfi^  A     A^AAA  JL  ° 

■  Op.  tit.,  pi.  386. 


90  SHU 

An  examination  of  the  texts  shows  that  Shu  was  a  god  of 
lio-ht,  or  light  personified,  who  made  himself  manifest  in  the  beams 
of  the  sun  by  day,  and  in  the  light  of  the  moon  by  night,  and  his 

home  was  the  disk  (J\  ^A  of  the  sun.  Viewed  in  this  connexion 
it  is  easy  to  understand  the  scene  in  which  the  god  appears  rising 
up  from  behind  the  earth  with  the  solar  disk  upon  his  head,  and 
his  hands  supporting  that  upon  which  it  rests.  In  a  text  at  Edfu 
published  by  Bergmann,1  the  creator  of  Shu  is  called  Tauith, 
"  "J  3 ,  and  to  him  the  king  who  caused  the  words  to  be  inscribed 

is  made  to  say,  "  Thou  hast  emitted  (!  /"^  dshesh)  Shu,  and 

"  he  hath  come  forth  from  thy  mouth.  ...  He  hath  become  a 
"  god,  and  he  hath  brought  for  thee  every  good  thing ;  he  hath 
"  toiled  for  thee,  and  he  hath  emitted  for  thee  in  his  name  of  Shu, 
"  the  royal  double.  He  hath  laboured  for  thee  in  these  things, 
"  and  he  beareth  up  for  thee  heaven  upon  his  head  in  his  name 
"  of  Shu,  and  Tauith  giveth  the  strength  of  the  body  of  heaven 
"in  his   name   of  Ptah.     He   beareth    up   II  fj   ^or   ^hee 

"  heaven  with  his  hands  in  his  name  of  Shu,  the  body  of  the 
"  sky." 2  It  must  be  noted  that  the  same  word  dshesh,  [  ^^  i> 
is  used  to  express  both  the  idea  of  "  pouring  out "  and  of 
"supporting,"  and  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  these  totally  different 
meanings  unless  we  remember  that  it  is  that  which  Tern,  or 
Ra-Teni,  has  poured  out  which  supports  the  heavens  wherein 
shines  the  Sun-god.  That  which  Tern,  or  Ra-Tem,  has  poured 
out  is  the  light,  and  light  was  declared  to  be  the  prop  of  the  sky. 


1  Hieroglyphische  Inschriften,  Vienna,  1879,  pi.  42,  11.  1-4,  10,  11. 


1,11 


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«K=    f=,     <=Z  ? 


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XO     ^  ~wwv    ^^  D  c^ji 


The    Goddess    TEFNUT. 


SHU  91 

From  a  number  of  passages  examined  by  Dr.  Brugsch  1  we  find 
that  Shu  was  a  personification  of  the  rays  which  came  forth  from 
the  eyes  of  Ra,  and  that  he  was  the  soul  of  the  god  Khnemu,  the 
great  god  of  Elephantine  and  of  the  First  Cataract ;  he  also 
represented  the  burning,  fiery  heat  of  the  sun  at  noon,  and  the  sun 
in  the  height  of  summer. 

In  another  aspect  his  abode  was  the  region  between  the  earth 
and  the  sky,  and  he  was  a  personification  of  the  wind  of  the  North  ; 
Dr.  Brugsch  went  so  far  as  to  identify  him  with  the  "  spiritual 
Pneuma  in  a  higher  sense,"  and  thought  that  he  might  be  regarded 
as  the  vital  principle  of  all  living  beings.  He  was  certainly,  like 
his  father  Tem,  thought  to  be  the  cool  wind  of  the  North,  and  the 
dead  were  grateful  to  him  for  his  breezes.  Shu  was,  in  fact,  the 
god  of  the  space  which  is  filled  with  the  atmosphere,  even  as  Ra 
was  the  god  of  heaven,  and  Seb  the  god  of  the  earth,  and  Osiris 
the  god  of  the  Underworld.  From  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (xvii.  16) 
we  learn  that  Shu  and  Tefnut  were  supposed  to  possess  but  one 
soul  between  them,  but  that  the  two  halves  of  it  were  identified 
with  the  soul  of  Osiris  and  the  soul  of  Ra,  which  together  formed 
the  great  double  soul  which  dwelt  in  Tattu.  The  gate  of  Tchesert 
in  the  Underworld  was  called  the  "gate  of  the  pillars  of  Shu" 
(xvii.  56),  and  Shu  and  Tefnut  laid  the  foundations  of  the  house 
in  which  the  deceased  was  supposed  to  dwell.  From  the  xviiith 
Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  we  find  that  the  princes  of 
Heliopolis  were  Tem,  Shu,  Tefnut,  Osiris,  and  Thoth,  and  that  Ra, 
Osiris,  Shu,  and  Bebi  were  the  princes  of  the  portion  of  the 
Underworld   which    was   known   by  the   name   of  Anrut-f.     We 

may  note  in  passing  that  Bebi,  J  J  mm  J),  or  Baba,  J  (1  J  (1  Jj, 
or      J^_  jjj ,     or     Baba,     J  ^  ^  J  ^  ^  ^ ,     or     Babai, 

J  ^7^  1^  JI  "%*  !^  QQ  $\ '  was  *^e  nrst_Dorn  son  °f  Osiris. 

According  to  Dr.  Brugsch,  Baba  was  personified  in  the  form  of 
some  Typhonic  mythological  animal,  and  was  the  god  who  presided 
over  the  phallus ;  the  blood  which  fell  from  his  nose  grew  up  into 
plants  which  subsequently  changed   into  cedars.     Dr.  Pleyte  has 

1  Beligion,  p.  4:'d. 


92  SHU 

rightly  identified  Bebi  or  Baba  with  the  Befiwv  or  Befitova  of 
Plutarch  (De  Iside,  §  62)  and  with  the  Bdfiw;  of  Hellanicus.1 
Bebon  was  a  name  of  Typhon,  i.e.,  Set,  and  that  he  was  represented 
by  an  animal  is  proved  by  the  hieroglyphic  form  of  his  name, 

which  is  determined  by  the  skin  of  an  animal,    J  <^s  J  ^^  W . 

In  Chapter  xxiii.  the  deceased  prays  that  his  "  mouth  may  be 
unclosed  by  Shu  with  the  iron  knife  wherewith  he  opened  the 
mouth  of  the  gods."  From  Chapters  xxxiii.  and  xxxv.  we  learn 
that  Shu  was  believed  to  possess  power  over  serpents,  and  he  it 
was  who  made  the  deceased  to  stand  up  by  the  Ladder  which 
would  take  him  to  heaven  (xcviii.  4).  That  souls  needed  a  ladder 
whereby  to  mount  from  earth  to  heaven  was  a  very  ancient  belief 
in  Egypt.  The  four  pillars  which  held  up  the  sky  at  the  four 
cardinal  points  were  called  the  "pillars  of  Shu"  (cix.  5,  ex.  13), 
and  Shu  was  the  breath  of  the  god  Ra  (exxx.  4).  The  deceased 
was  nourished  with  the  food  of  Shu,  i.e.,  he  lived  upon  light ;  and 
in  the  Roman  period  Shu  was  merged  in  Ra,  the  god  of  light. 
The  part  played  in  Egyptian  mythology  by  Tefhut  is  not  easily 
defined,  and  but  little  is  known  about  her.  In  the  text  of  Unas 
(line  453)  she  is  mentioned  together  with  the  two  Maat  goddesses, 

^^j  \  (1 ,  and  with  Shu,  but  curiously  enough,  she  seems  to  appear 

as   the   female    counterpart   of  a   god    called  Tefen,    *^.   .     The 

passage  reads,  "  Tefen  and  Tefnet  have  weighed  Unas,  and  the 
"  Maat  goddesses  have  hearkened,  and  Shu  hath  borne  witness," 
etc.  In  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  she  is 
mentioned  a  few  times  in  connexion  with  Shu  (Chapters  xvii., 
exxx.,  etc.),  and  she  is  one  of  the  group  of  gods  who  form  the 
divine  company  and  the  "  body  and  soul  of  Ra  "  (cxl.  7),  but  she 
performs  no  service  for  the  deceased  beyond  providing  him  with 
breath.  She  was  originally  a  goddess  of  gentle  rain  and  soft 
wind,  but  at  a  comparatively  late  period  of  Egyptian  history  she 
was  identified  with  Nehemauit  at  Hermopolis,  with  Menhit  at 
Latopolis,  with  Sekhet  in  Memphis,  and  with  Apsit  in  Nubia. 

Unlike  most  of  the  gods  of  Egypt,  Shu  and  Tefnut  do  not  appear 

1  Aeg.  Zeitschrift,  1865,  p.  55. 


SHU  93 

to  have  have  had  set  apart  for  them  any  special  city  or  district, 
but  at  the  same  time  titles  were  given  to  certain  cities  which  pre- 
supposed some  connexion  between  them  and  these  gods.  Thus 
Dendera  was  called  Per-Shu,  c~=1  R  @  T ,  i.e.,  "  House  of  Shu,"  and 
Apollinopolis    Magna     was     called     Hinu-en-Shu-nefer,  m  (](j    Q 

Y  ($£$  J,    and    Edfu    was   the    "Seat   of   Shu,"    jj(5^©,    and 

Memphis  bore  the  name  of  "  Palace  of  Shu,"  Jrtl    °   ©  R  %  1  .x 

/WWW    I I  I  Jl 

Similarly,  one  portion  of  Dendera  was  known  as  the  "  House  of 
Tefnut,"   or  the   "  Aat  of  Tefnut,"  ^=^_r^^,  i^m^   ga     or 

r»  av  Whether  there  were  statues  of  Shu  and 
Tefnut  in  these  cities  cannot  be  said,  but  it  is  very  probable  that 
they  were  worshipped  in  their  sanctuaries  under  the  forms  of  lions, 
and  in  this  connexion  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  Aelian  records 
{Be  Nat.  Animal,  xii.  §  7)  that  the  people  of  Heliopolis  worshipped 
lions  in  the  temple  of  Helios. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  Shu  was  the  sky-bearer 
par  excellence,  and  we  may  note  in  passing  the  interesting  myth 
which  the  Egyptians  possessed  about  him  in  this  capacity,  and  the 
explanation  which  they  gave  of  his  occupying  this  position. 
According  to  the  text  which  is  found  in  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  at  Thebes,  in  very  remote  times, 
when  Ra  ruled  over  gods  and  men  and  had  his  throne  established 
in  the  city  of  Suten-henen,  or  Henen-su,  mankind  began  to  utter 
seditious  words  against  him,  and  the  great  god  determined  to 
destroy  them.  He  summoned  Hathor,  Shu,  Tefnut,  Seb,  and  Nut 
into  his  presence,  and  having  told  them  what  men,  who  had  pro- 
ceeded from  his  eye,  had  been  saying  about  him,  he  asked  them 
for  their  advice,  and  promised  that  he  would  not  slay  the  rebels 
until  he  had  heard  what  the  "  first-born  god  "  and  the  "  ancestor 
gods  "  had  to  say  on  the  matter.     In  answer  to  this  the  first-born 

god  Nu,  1  J  (1  t\    fl  %>  f%  & ,   advised  him  to  let  his  daughter 

Hathor,  "the  eye  of  Ra,"  go  forth  and  slay  men  ;   Ra  accepted  the 
advice  straightway,  and  Hathor  went  forth  and  slew  all  mankind, 

1  Brugscb,  Did.  Gdog.,  p.  776. 


94  SEB 

and  when  she  returned  Ra  was  well  pleased  with  her.  Soon  after 
this  he  hecame  wearied  with  the  earth,  and  the  goddess  Nut 
having  been  turned  into  a  cow  he  mounted  upon  her  back  and 
remained  there,  but  before  long  the  cow  began  to  shake  and  to 
tremble  because  she  was  very  high  above  the  earth,  and  when  she 
complained  to  Ra  about  it  he  commanded  Shu  to  be  a  support  to 
her,  and  to  hold  her  up  in  the  sky.  In  the  picture  of  the  cow 
which  accompanies  the  text  we  see  her  body  resting  upon  the  head 
and  the  two  raised  hands  and  arms  of  the  god.  When  Shu  had 
taken  up  his  place  beneath  the  cow  and  was  bearing  up  her  body, 
the  heavens  above  and  the  earth  beneath  came  into  being,  and  the 
four  legs  of  the  cow  became  the  four  props  of  heaven  at  the  four 
cardinal  points ;  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  god  Seb  and 
his  female  counterpart  Nut  began  their  existence. 

Seb,  ^.J^.or^J^,  or  vj|,  or  *"],  or  V|. 

Seb  was  the  son  of  Shu  and  Tefnut,  and  Avas  the  brother  and 
husband  of  Nut,  and  the  father  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  Set  and 
Nephthys,  and  some  say  of  one  of  the  Horus  gods  ;  according  to 
the  late  Dr.  Brugsch  his  name  should  be  read  Geb  or  Keb,  or 
Gebb,  or  Kebb,  and  in  very  early  times  this  undoubtedly  seems  to 
have  been  the  correct  form  of  the  god's  name.  He  is  usually 
represented  in  the  form  of  a  man  who  bears  upon  his  head  either 

the  white  crown  Q ,  or  the  crown  of  the  North,  to  which  is  added 

the  Atef  crown,  ^T,    or  a  goose,   ^*>  of  the   peculiar   species 

called  seb.  This  bird  was  sacred  to  him  because  he  was  believed 
to  have  made  his  way  through  the  air  in  its  form.  Seb  was  the 
god  of  the  earth,  and  the  earth  formed  his  body  and  was  called  the 
"  house  of  Seb,"  just  as  the  air  was  called  the  "  house  of  Shu,"  and 
the  heaven  the  "  house  of  Ra,"  and  the  Underworld  the  "  house  of 
Osiris."  As  the  god  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  from  which  spring- 
up  trees,  and  plants,  and  herbs,  and  grain  he  played  a  very 
prominent  part  in  the  mythology  of  the  Underworld,  and  as  the 
god  of  the  earth  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground  he  had 
authority  over  the  tombs  wherein  the  dead  were  laid.     In  hymns 


SEB,     THE     ERPA     OF     THE     GODS 


SEB  95 

and    other  compositions   he  is  often  styled   the    erpdt,     o 


i.e.,  the  hereditary,  tribal  chief  of  the  gods,  and  he  plays  a  very 
important  part  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead.  Thus  he  is  one  of  the 
company  of  the  gods  who  watch  the  weighing  of  the  heart  of  the 
deceased  in  the  Judgment  Hall  of  Osiris,  and  on  his  brow  rested 
the  secret  gates  which  were  close  by  the  Balance  of  Ra,  and  which 
were  guarded  by  the  god  himself  (xii.  2). 

The  soul  of  Seb  was  called  Smam-ue,  fl  Ih^7  t\    ^Zh  3  ^* 


(xvii.  116).  The  righteous  who  were  provided  with  the  necessary 
words  of  power  were  enabled  to  make  their  escape  from  the  earth 
wherein  their  bodies  were  laid,  but  the  wicked  were  held  fast  by 
Seb  (xix.  14);  Sekhet  and  Anpu  were  great  helpers  of  the 
deceased,  but  it  was  Seb  whom  he  asked  to  open  wide  his  two  jaws 
for  him,  whom  he  begged  to  open  his  eyes,  and  loose  his  legs  which 
were  bandaged  (xxvi.  1).  And  of  him  the  deceased  said,  "My 
"father  is  Seb,  and  my  mother  is  Nut"  (xxxi.  5).  Like  Shu  the 
god  Seb  was  appealed  to  by  the  deceased  for  help  against  serpents 
(xxxiii.  2),  and  he  was  never  tired  of  boasting  that  his  cakes  were 
"  on  the  earth  with  the  god  Seb  "  (liii.  4),  and  that  the  gods  had 
declared  that  he  was  "  to  live  upon  the  bread  of  Seb  "  (lxviii.  9).  In 
a  burst  of  joy,  Nu,  the  overseer  of  the  house  of  the  overseer  of  the 
seal,  is  made  to  say,  "  The  doors  of  heaven  are  opened  for  me,  the 
"  doors  of  earth  are  opened  for  me,  the  bars  and  bolts  of  Seb  are 
"  opened  for  me "  (lxviii.  2),  and  "  I  exchange  speech  with  Seb 
"(lxxviii.  12),  I  am  decreed  to  be  the  divine  heir  of  Seb,  the 
"  lord  of  the  earth,  and  to  be  the  protector  therein.  The 
"  god  Seb  refresheth  me,  and  he  maketh  his  risings  to  be  mine " 
(lxxx.  11,12). 

The  religious  texts  show  that  there  was  no  special  city  or 
district  set  apart  for  the  god  Seb,  but  a  portion  of  the  temple 
estates  in  Apollinopolis   Magna  was    called   the    "  Aat   of   Seb," 

■^  J \v\ '  an(^  a  name  °f  Dendera  was  "the  home  of  the  children 

of  Seb,"  ^  IT]  (]()  ^  ffl  P  J   ^  J  ^  •     The  chief  seat  of  the  god 

appears  to  have  been  at  Heliopolis,  where  he  and  his  female 
counterpart  Nut  produced  the  great  Egg  whereout  sprang  the  Sun- 


96  SEB 

god  under  the  form  of  a  phoenix.1     Because  of  his  connexion  with 

this  Egg  Seb  is  sometimes  called  the  "  Great  Cackler,"  Kenken-ur, 

S     Z3   "^»  %  §     Thus  the  deceased  says,  "  Hail,  thou  god  Tern, 

/WW\A     /W\*AA     <^-— — ^     A— 1 

"  grant  unto  me  the  sweet  breath  which  dwelleth  in  thy  nostrils. 
"  I  embrace  that  great  throne  which  is  in  the  city  of  Hermopolis, 
"  and  I  keep  watch  over  the  Egg  of  the  Great  Cackler  (or, 
"  according  to  another  reading,  I  am  the  Egg  which  is  in  the 
"  Great  Cackler,  and  I  watch  and  guard  that  mighty  thing  which 
"  hath  come  into  being  wherewith  the  god  Seb  hath  opened  the 
"  earth),  I  germinate  as  it  germinateth ;  I  live  as  it  liveth ;  and 
"[my]  breath  is  [its]  breath"  (Booh  of  the  Dead,  Chapters  liv., 
"  lvi.,  lix.). 

The  name  of  the  phoenix  in  Egyptian  is  "Bennu,"  J  ~  ■ 
and  this  bird  played  a  very  prominent  part  in  Egyptian  mythology, 
but  the  texts  do  not  bear  out  the  extraordinary  assertions  which 
have  been  made  about  it  by  classical  writers.  According  to  the 
story  which  Herodotus  heard  at  Heliopolis  (ii.  73),  the  bird  visited 
that  place  once  every  five  hundred  years,  on  its  father's  death ; 
when  it  was  live  hundred,  or  fourteen  hundred  and  sixty-one 
years  old,  it  burnt  itself  to  death.  It  was  supposed  to  resemble 
an  eagle,  and  to  have  red  and  gold  feathers,  and  to  come  from 
Arabia ;  before  its  death  it  built  a  nest  to  which  it  gave  the  power  of 
producing  a  new  phoenix,  though  some  thought  that  a  worm  crept 
out  of  its  body  before  it  died,  and  that  from  it  the  heat  of  the  sun 
developed  a  new  phoenix.  Others  thought  that  it  died  after  a  life 
of  seven  thousand  and  six  years,  and  another  view  was  that  the 
new  phoenix  rose  from  the  burnt  and  decomposing  remains  of  his 
old  body,  and  that  he  took  these  to  Heliopolis  where  he  burnt 
them.2  All  these  fabulous  stories  are  the  result  of  misunder- 
standings of  the  Egyptian  myth  which  declared  that  the  renewed 
morning  sun  rose  in  the  form  of  a  Bennu,  and  of  the  belief  which 
declared  that  this  bird  was  the  soul  of  Ra  and  also  the  living- 
symbol  of  Osiris,  and  that  it  came  forth  from  the  very  heart  of  the 


1  Bragsch,  Religion,  p.  577. 

2  See  Luciart,    Be  Mort.   Pers.,   xxvii. ;    Philostratus,    Vit.   Apollon.,  iii.   49  ; 
Tzetzes,  Chi  liar,  v.  397  ;  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  x.  2  ;  Poruponius  Mela,  iii.  8. 


g 


SEB  97 

od.     The  sanctuary  of  the  Bennu  was  the   sanctuary  of  Ra.  and 
Osiris,  and  was  called  Het  Benben,         Q      J Lvw^  J  i.e.,  the 

"  House  of  the  Obelisk,"  and  remembering  this  it  is  easy  to  under- 
stand the  passages  in  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  "  I  go  in  like  the 
"  Hawk,  and  I  come  forth  like  the  Bennu,  the  Morning  Star  (i.e., 
"  the  planet  Venus)  of  Ra  "  (xiii.  2)  ;  "I  am  the  Bennu  which  is  in 
"  Heliopolis"  (xvii.  27),  and  the  scholion  on  this  passage  expressly 
informs  us  that  the  Bennu  is  Osiris.  Elsewhere  the  deceased 
says,  "  I  am  the  Bennu,  the  soul  of  Ra,  and  the  guide  of  the  gods 
"  in  the  Tuat ;  (xxix.c  1) ;  let  it  be  so  done  unto  me  that  I  may 
"  enter  in  like  a  hawk,  and  that  I  may  come  forth  like  Bennu, 
"the  Morning  Star"  (cxxii.  6).  On  a  hypocephalus  quoted  by 
Prof.  Wiedemann,1  the  deceased  is  made  to  say,  "  I  am  in  the  form 
"  of  the  Bennu,  which  cometh  forth  from  Het-Benbenet  in  Annu," 
and  from  many  passages  we  learn  that  the  Bennu,  the  Soul  of  Ra, 
which  appeared  each  morning  under  the  form  of  the  rising  sun, 
was  supposed  to  shine  upon  the  world  from  the  top  of  the  famous 
Persea  tree  wherein  he  renewed  himself.  We  may  note  that  a 
Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (lxxxii.)  was  written  with  the 
special  object  of  enabling  the  deceased  to  transform  himself  into  a 
Bennu  bird  if  he  felt  disposed  to  do  so  ;  in  it  he  identifies  himself 
with  the  god  Khepera,  and  with  Horus,  the  vanquisher  of  Set, 
and  with  Khensu. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  Seb  was  the  god  of  the  earth, 
and  the  Heliopolitans  declared  that  he  represented  the  very 
ground  upon  which  their  city  stood,  meaning  that  Heliopolis  was 
the  birthplace  of  the  company  of  the  gods,  aud  in  fact  that  the  work 
of  creation  began  there.  In  several  papyri  we  find  pictures  of  the 
first  act  of  creation  which  took  place  as  soon  as  the  Sun-god,  by 
whatsoever  name  he  may  be  called,  appeared  in  the  sky,  and  sent 
forth  his  rays  from  the  heights  of  heaven  upon  the  earth,  and  in 
these  Seb  always  occupies  a  very  prominent  position.  He  is  seen 
lying  upon  the  ground  with  one  hand  stretched  out  upon  it,  and 
the  other  extended  towards  heaven,  which  position  seems  to  be 
referred  to  in  the  text  of  Pepi  I.,  lines  338,  339,  wherein  we  read, 

i  Aeg.  Zeit.,  1878,  p.  93. 
II — II 


98 


SEB   AND   NUT 


"  Seb  throws  out  his  [one]  hand  to  heaven  and  his  [one]  hand 


"  towards    the     earth, 


XX 


By  his  side  stands  the  god  Shu,  who  supports  on  his 

upraised  hands  the  heavens  which  are  depicted  in  the  form  of  a 
woman,  whose  body  is  bespangled  with  stars  ;  this  woman  is  the 
goddess  Nut,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  lifted  up  from  the 
embrace  of  Seb  by  Shu  when  he  insinuated  himself  between  their 
bodies  and  so  formed  the  earth  and  the  sky.  This  was  the  act  of 
Shu  which  brought  into  being  his  heir  Seb,  and  his  consort  Nut, 
and  it  was  the  heirship  of  this  god  which  the  kings  of  Egypt 
boasted  they  had  received  when  they  sat  upon  their  thrones. 

Seb  was  the  hereditary  tribal  chief  of  the  gods,  and  his  throne 

represented  the  sovereignty 
both  of  heaven  and  of  earth; 
as    a   creative   god  he  was 


/>U 

^Tngrr^  V 

Seb  and  Nut. 


identified  with  Tern,  and 
so,  as  Dr.  Brugsch  pointed 
out,  became  the  "  father  of 
his  father."  As  an  elemen- 
tary god  he  represented  the 
earth,  as  Ra  did  fire,  and 
Shu  air,  and  Osiris  water. 
In  some  respects  the  attri- 
butes of  Nut  were  assigned 
to  him,  for  he  is  sometimes  called  the  lord  of  the  watery  abyss,  and 
the  dweller  in  the  watery  mass  of  the  sky,  and  the  lord  of  the  Under- 
world. He  is  also  described  as  one  of  the  porters  of  heaven's  gate, 
who  draws  back  the  bolts,  and  opens  the  door  in  order  that  the  light 
of  Ril  may  stream  upon  the  world,  and  when  he  set  himself  in 
motion  his  movements  produced  thunder  in  heaven  and  quaking 
upon  earth.  He  was  akin  in  some  way  to  the  two  Akeru  gods, 
^\  ^o  £££  3  i ,  who  were  represented  as  a  lion  with  a  head 

at  each  end  of  its  body ;  this  body  was  a  personification  of  the 
passage  in  the  earth  through  which  the  sun  passed  during  the 
hours  of  night  from  the  place  where  he  set  in  the  evening  to  that 
where  he  rose  the  next  morning.     The  mouths  of  the  lions  formed 


SEB   AND   NUT 


99 


the  entrance  into  and  the  exit  from  this  passage,  and  as  the  head 
of  one  lion  symbolized  the  evening  and  the  west,  and  the  other 
symbolized  the  morning  and  the  east,  in  later  days  each  lion's 
head  was  provided  with  a  separate  body,  and  the  one  was  called 

Sef,     I         ,  i.e.,  "Yesterday,"    and    the  other  was  called  Tuau, 

*  1^  V  ^'  *'e*'  "To-day"  (Book  of  the  Dead,  xvii.,  lines  14,  15). 
Though  he  was  god  of  the  earth  Seb  also  acted  as  a  guide  to  the 
deceased  in  heaven,  and  he  provided  him  with  meat  and  drink  ; 
numerous  passages  in  the  Booh  of  the  Bead  refer  to  the  gifts  which 
he  bestowed  upon  Osiris  his  son,  and  the  deceased  prayed  fervently 
that  he  would  bestow  upon  him  the  same  protection  and  help 
which  he  had  bestowed  upon  Osiris. 


Shu  supporting  the  boat  of  the  Sun-god  beneath  the  sky-goddess  Nut. 


In  two  passages  in  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (Chapter  xxxi.  3  of 
the  Saite  Recension ;  and  Chapter  lxix.  7,  Theban  Recension)  we 
appear  to  have  an  allusion  to  a  myth  concerning  Seb  which  is 
otherwise  unknown.  In  the  former  the  deceased  says,  "  I,  even  I, 
"  am  Osiris,  who  shut  in  his  father  Seb  together  with  his  mother 
"  Nut  on  the  day  of  the  great  slaughter.  My  father  is  Seb  and  my 
"mother  is  Nut";  and  in  the  latter  he  says,  "I,  even  I,  am  Osiris, 
"  who  shut  in  his  father  together  with  his  mother  on  the  day  of 
"making  the  great  slaughter,"  and  the  text  adds,  "now,  the  father 
"  is  Seb,  and  the  mother  is  Nut."     The  word  used  for  "  slaughter  " 


100  NUT 

is  shdt,  a  ^k  ,   and   there   is   no   doubt   whatsoever  about   its 

meaning,  and  according  to  Dr.  Brugsch 1  we  are  to  understand 
an  act  of  self-mutilation  on  the  part  of  Ra,  the  father  of  Osiris, 
similar  to  that  which  is  referred  to  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead. 
Chapter  xvii.,  line  61.     According  to  this  passage  the  gods  Ammiu, 

-JL-  \\    \\  \\  f=a  *n  i ,  sprang  from  the  drops  of  blood2  which  fell 

from  Ra  after  the  process  of  mutilation,  and  Dr.  Brugsch  compared 

the   action   of    Osiris    in  shutting   in,  ^  "  g ,  his  father  Seb  with 

the  punishment  which  Kronos  inflicted  upon  his  father  Uranus 
because  he  threw  the  Cyclopes  into  Tartarus,  and  the  Ammiu  gods 
had  an  origin  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Erinnyes. 


Nut,  D~,  or®",  or  ®®,  or  « 


^o 


The  goddess  Nut  was  the  daughter  of  Shu  and  Tefnut,  and 
the  wife  of  Seb,  the  Earth-god,  and  the  mother  of  Osiris  and  Isis, 
and  Set  and  Nephthys ;  she  was  the  personification  of  the  heavens 
and  the  sky,  and  of  the  region  wherein  the  clouds  formed,  and  in 
fact  of  every  portion  of  the  region  in  which  the  sun  rose,  and 
travelled  from  east  to  west.  As  a  goddess  of  the  late  historical 
period  in  Egypt  Nut  seems  to  have  absorbed  the  attributes  of  a 
number  of  goddesses  who  possessed  attributes  somewhat  similar  to 
those  of  herself,  and  the  identities  of  several  old  nature  goddesses 
were  merged  in  her.  In  the  Pyramid  Texts  (e.g.,  Unas,  line  452) 
Nut  appears  as  the  regular   female  counterpart  of   Seb,  who  is 

described  as  the  "Bull  of  Nut,"     "   ^a       ",  i.e.,  he  was  either 

the  father,  or  husband,  or  son  of  the  goddess ;  her  name  is  some- 
times written  without  f==*s  the  determinative  for  sky,  e.g.,  in 
Pepi  I.,  line  242,  where  it  is  said,  "Nut  hath  brought  forth 
her  daughter  Venus,"   f  I  ff|  1 1  (j  ««w  O  "fe^  R  cs  jO     .    ^  Properly 


1  Religion,  p.  581. 

n 


Id^¥M=^!^  ^l^^t^ 


i    i    i 


NUT 


101 


speaking,  Nut, 


a  o 


is  the  personification  of  the  Day-sky,  i.e.,  of 


the  sky  which  rests  upon  the  two  mountains  of  Bakhau  and  Manu, 
that  is,  the  Mountain  of  Sunrise  and  the  Mountain  of  Sunset,  but 
the  Pyramid  Texts  prove  that  the  Egyptians  conceived  the 
existence  of  a  personification  of  the  Night-sky,  and  it  seems  as  if 


Nut  giving  birth  to  the  Sun,  the  rays  of  which  fall  ou  Hathor  in  the  horizon. 


this  goddess  and  her  male  counterpart  were  entirely  different 
beings  from  Seb  and  Nut,  and  had  different  names.  In  the  text 
of  Unas  (line  557)  we  find  mentioned  the  two  gods  Nau  and  Naut, 

I  A.  „  ^  , ,  who  are,  however,  regarded  as  one  god 


102  NUT 

and  are  addressed  accordingly.  Thus  it  is  said,  "Thy  cake  is  to 
"  thee,  Nau  and  Naut,  even  as  one  who  uniteth  the  gods  and  who 
"maketh  the  gods  to  refresh  themselves  beneath  their  shadow." 
In  this  passage  it  is  certainly  right  to  assume  that  Naut  represents 
the  Night-sky  because  of  the  determinative  of  the  name  t=d, 
which  is  the  sky,  or  heaven,  inverted.  In  another  passage  (Teta, 
line  218)  we  read   of  the  "star   Nekhekh    of  Naut"  (or   Nut), 

/WWW  ^?\  /WVWA  h  15? 

^^*  □  Y^  ©°,  i.e.,  the  "star  Nekhekh  in  the  Night-sky    ;  on 

the   other   hand   too   much    stress   must   not    be    laid   upon   the 

determinative,  because  in  the  word    1 1 c       ^  v\  f=q,  which  seems 

to  mean  the  "  firmament  strewn  with  stars,"  l  the  determinative  is 
that  of  the  Day-sky. 

At  a  very  early  period,  however,  the  difference  between  the 
Day-sky  and  the  Night-sky  was  forgotten,  at  least  in  speaking, 
and  it  is  chiefly  from  good  funeral  texts  that  we  learn  that 
a  distinction  between  them  was  made  in  writing.  In  the 
Papyrus  of  Ani2  are  several  examples  of  the  name  Nut  written 

/WWW  /WWW  Qj. 

°  © ,  or  * — 1  )L  ,  and  the  latter  form  is  several  times  found  in 

r — i'         e>l@  lift' 

the  Papyrus  of  Nu,  which  dates  from  the  first  half  of  the  period  of 
the  XVIIIth  Dynasty;  whenever  one  or  other  of  these  forms  is 
found  in  good  papyri  it  is  the  Night-sky  which  is  referred  to  in 
the  text.  We  have  already  seen  in  the  paragraphs  on  the  god 
Nu  that  he  had  a  female  counterpart  called  Nut,  who  represented 
the  great  watery  abyss  out  of  which  all  things  came,  and  who 
formed  the  celestial  Nile  whereon  the  Sun  sailed  in  his  boats ;  this 
watery  path  was  divided  into  two  parts,  that  whereon  the  Sun 
sailed  by  day,  and  that  over  which  he  passed  during  the  night. 
The  goddess  Nut,  whom  the  texts  describe  as  the  wife  of  Seb,  is 
for  all  practical  purposes  the  same  being  as  Nut,  the  wife  of  Nu ; 
this  fact  is  proved  by  her  titles,  which  are,  "  Nut,  the  mighty  one, 
"  the  great  lady,  the  daughter  of  Ra  "  ;  "  Nut,  the  lady  of  heaven, 
"  the  mistress  of  the  gods  "  ;  "  Nut,  the  great  lady,  who  gave  birth 
"  to  the  gods " ;  "  Nut,  who  gave  birth  to  the  gods,  the  lady  of 

1  Maspero,  Becueil,  torn,  v.,  p.  25. 

2  See  my  Vocabulary  to  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  p.  159. 


NUT,   the    Mother    of   the    Gods. 


NUT 


10; 


"  heaven,  the  mistress  of  the  Two  Lands."  1     The  shrines  of  the 
goddess   were   not   very   numerous,    but    there   was   a   Per- Nut, 

a  ^  J) ,  in  Memphis,  and  a  Het-Nut,  cj ,  in  the  Delta,  and 
three  portions  of  the  temple  territory  in  Dendera  were  called 
respectively    Ant-en-Nut,     Per-mest-en-Nut,     and     Per-netch- 


Nut-ina-Shu,    || 


MA/VW  7T       ^ 

AAWM 


D  ^  ^ 


and 


ctzd 


t 


*M 


.2  The 


goddess  is  usually  represented  in  the  form  of  a 
woman  who  bears  upon  her  head  a  vase  of  water, 
0,  which  has  the  phonetic  value  Nil,  and  which 
indicates  both  her  name  and  her  nature ; 3  she 
sometimes  wears  on  her  head  the  horns  and  disk  of 
the  goddess  Hathor,  and  holds  in  her  hands  a 
papyrus  sceptre  and  the  symbol  of  "life."  She 
once   appears   in    the   form  of  the    amulet  of  the 

buckle,    ft,  from   the   top    of  which   projects   her 

head,  and  she  is  provided  with  human  arms, 
hands,  and  feet ;  sometimes  she  appears  in  the 
form  which  is  usually  identified  as  that  of  Hathor, 
that  is  as  a  woman    standing  in  a   sycamore   tree 

and  pouring  out  water   from   a  vase,    (v,  for   the 


souls  of  the  dead  who  come  to  her. 
more    tree   of   Nut,"    „     /$  < 


The 


syca- 


D   ^ 


IS 


mentioned  in  Chapter  lix.  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead, 
and  in  the  vignette  we  see  the  goddess  standing 
in  it. 

On    a    mummy-case    at    Turin    the    goddess 
appears  in  the  form  of  a  woman  standing  on  the 


*  ■* , 
.«  +  *+♦ 

♦  *  • » ■» « , 

♦  «    i  ♦  * 

«  * 


!    °    ~    ^fc* 


o 


o  ^ 


f=^   ^  II 


1« 


°   Q  ^ 


Y7 


2  Brugsch,  Diet.  Geog.,  p.  366. 

3  For  a  good  collection  of  figures  of  the  goddess  see  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  150  ff. 


104 


NUT 


emblem  of  gold,  f^.  Above  her  head  is  the  solar  disk 
with  uraei,  and  she  is  accompanied  by  the  symbols  of  Ne- 
khebet,  Uatchet,  and  Hathor  as  goddess  of  the  West;  by  her 
feet  stand  two  snake-headed  goddesses  of  the  sky,  each  of  whom 
wears  the  feather  (J  on  her  head.  The  goddess  herself  wears  the 
vulture  crown  with  uraei,  and  above  are  the  uraei  of  the  South 
and  North  and  the  hawk  of  Horus  wearing  the  white  crown. 
Below  her  is  the  sycamore  tree,  her  emblem,  and  in  it  sits  the 
great  Cat  of  Ra  who  is  cutting  off  the  head  of  Apep,  the  god  of 
darkness  and  evil.  In  the  form  in  which  she  appears  in  this 
picture  Nut  has  absorbed  the  attributes  of  all  the  great  goddesses, 
and  she  is  the  type  of  the  great  mother  of  the  gods  and  of  the 
world. 

On  coffins  and  in  many  papyri  we  find  her  depicted  in  the 

form  of  a  woman  whose 
body  is  bent  round  in 
such  a  way  as  to  form  a 
semi-circle ;  in  this  atti- 
tude she  represents  the 
sky  or  heaven,  and  her 
legs  and  arms  represent 
the  four  pillars  on  which 
the  sky  was  supposed  to 
rest  and  mark  the  position 
of  the  cardinal  points. 
She  is  supported  in  her  position  by  Shu,  the  son  of  Ra,  who 
is  supposed  to  have  lifted  her  up  from  the  embrace  of  Seb, 
and  this  last-named  god  is  seen  lying  on  the  ground,  with  one  hand 
raised  to  heaven  and  the  other  touching  the  earth.  On  each  side 
of  Shu  is  a  hawk;  the  one  represents  the  rising  and  the  other  the 
setting  sun.  According  to  one  myth  Nut  gave  birth  to  her  son 
the  Sun-god  daily,  and  passing  over  her  body  he  arrived  at  her 
mouth,  into  which  he  disappeared,  and  passing  through  her  body 
he  was  re-born  the  following  morning.  Another  myth  declared 
that  the  sun  sailed  up  the  legs  and  over  the  back  of  the  goddess  in 
the  Atet,  or  Matet  Boat  until  noon,  when  he  entered  the  Sektet 
boat  and-  continued  his  journey  until  sunset.     In  the  accompanying 


Seb  and  Nut. 


The  Goddess   NUT   holding   a   Tablet  on   which   stands 
HARPOCRATES. 


NUT  105 

picture  we  see  Ra  in  his  boat  with  Shu  and  Tefnut  (?)  sailing 
up  through  the  watery  abyss  behind  the  legs  of  Nut,  in  the  Atet 
Boat,  and  sailing  down  the  arms  of  the  goddess  in  the  Sektet  Boat 
into  the  Tuat  or  Underworld  ;  the  whole  of  the  body  and  limbs  of 
the  goddess  are  bespangled  with  stars.  In  another  remarkable 
picture  we  see  a  second  body  of  a  woman,  which  is  also  bent  round 
in  such  a  way  as  to  form  a  semi-circle,  within  that  of  Nut, 
and  within  this  second  body  is  the  body  of  a  man  which  is 
bent  round  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  an  almost  complete  circle. 
Some  explain  this  scene  by  saying  that  the  outer  body  of  a  woman 
is  the  heaven  over  which  Ra  travels,  and  that  the  inner  body  is 
the  heaven  over  which  the  Moon  makes  her  way  at  night,  whilst 
the  male  body  within  them  is  the  almost  circular  valley  of  the 
Tuat ;  others,  however,  say  that  the  two  women  are  merely  personi- 
fications of  the  Day  and  Night  skies,  and  this  view  is,  no  doubt, 
the  correct  one.  The  raising  up  of  Nut  from  the  embrace  of  Seb 
represented,  as  we  have  before  said,  the  first  act  of  creation,  and 
the  great  creative  power  which  brought  it  about  having  separated 
the  earth  from  the  waters  which  were  above  it,  and  set  the  sun 
between  the  earth  and  the  sky,  was  now  able  to  make  the  gods, 
and  human  beings,  animals,  etc.  The  Egyptians  were  very  fond  of 
representations  of  this  scene,  and  they  had  many  variants  of  it,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  collection  of  reproductions  given  by 
Lanzone.1  In  some  of  these  we  find  Shu  holding  up  the  Boat  of 
Ra  under  the  body  of  Nut,  in  others  we  see  the  two  boats  of  Ra 
placed  side  by  side  on  her  back,  the  god  in  one  boat  being 
Khepera,  and  the  god  in  the  other  being  Osiris.  Shu  is  some- 
times accompanied  by  Thoth,  and  sometimes  by  Khnemu  ;  in  one 
instance  Seb  has  a  serpent's  head,  and  in  another  the  goose,  which 
is  his  symbol,  is  seen  standing  near  his  feet  with  its  beak  open  in 
the  act  of  cackling.  The  Egyptian  artists  were  not  always  con- 
sistent in  some  of  their  details  of  the  scene,  for  at  one  time  the 
region  wherein  is  the  head  of  Nut  is  described  as  the  east,  ¥>  an(^ 
at  another  as  the  west,  ft ;  at  one  time  Seb  lies  with  his  head  to  the 
east,    and    at    another   to    the    west.      Finally,   the   goddess    once 

1  Op.  cit.,  pll.  luOff. 


106  NUT 

appears  holding  up  in  her  hands  a  tablet,  on  which  stands  a 
youthful  male  figure  who  is  probably  intended  to  represent 
Harpocrates,  or  one  of  the  many  Horus  gods ;  in  this  example  she 
is  regarded  as  the  Sky-mother  who  has  produced  her  son,  the 
Sun-god.  According  to  another  myth  Nut  was  transformed  into 
a  huge  cow,  the  legs  of  which  were  held  in  position  by  the  Four 
Children  of  Horus,  whilst  her  body  was  supported  by  Shu,  as  the 
body  of  Nut  when  in  the  form  of  a  woman  was  borne  up  by 
this  god. 

From  a  large  number  of  passages  found  in  texts  of  all  periods 
we  learn  that,  from  first  to  last,  Nut  was  always  regarded  as  a 
friend  and  protector  of  the  dead,  and  the  deceased  appealed  to  her 
for  food,  and  help,  and  protection  just  as  a  son  appeals  to  his 
mother.  In  the  text  of  Teta  (line  175),  it  is  said  to  the  deceased, 
"  Nut  hath  set  thee  as  a  god  to  Set  in  thy  name  of  '  god,'  and  thy 
"  mother  Nut  hath  spread  herself  out  over  thee  in  her  name  of 

,- ,       MAMA     <<r\  3-?         pa  r-1 

" '  Coverer   of  the    sky,' "    ^  ^  NK  O  ^L    1   — 


1 


□  n  ^k      n  §k    <===>  n        ■~^~|  □  ° 

and  in  line  268  we  have,  "  Nephthys  hath  united  again  for  thee 
"  thy  members  in  her  name  of  Sesheta,  M  r^vn  ""^X  ^  sjk ,  the  lady 
"  of  the  buildings  through  which  thou  hast  passed,  and  thy  mother 
"  Nut  in  her  name  of  Qersut,     A    M  ^\  ^ ,  hath  granted  that  she 

"  shall  embrace  thee  in  her  name  Qersu,     A    fl  ^K ,  and  that  she 

"  shall  introduce  thee  in  her  name  of  '  Door.'  "  In  the  text  of 
Pepi  I.  (line  256)  it  is  said,  "  Pepi  hath  come  forth  from  Pe  with 
"  the  spirits  of  Pe,  and  he  is  arrayed  in  the  apparel  of  Horus,  and 
"  in  the  dress  of  Thoth,  and  Isis  is  before  him  and  Nephthys  is 
"  behind  him ;  Ap-uat  hath  opened  unto  him  a  way,  and  Shu 
"  lifteth  him  up,  and  the  souls  of  Annu  make  him  ascend  the 
"  steps  and  set  him  before  Nut  who  stretcheth  out  her  hand  to 
"him."  In  the  Book  of  the  Dead  are  several  allusions  to  Nut  and 
to  the  meat  and  drink  which  she  provides  for  the  deceased,  and  a 
chapter  (lix.)  is  found  which  was  specially  composed  to  enable  him 
to  "  snuff  the  air,  and  to  have  dominion  over  the  waters  in  the 


The  Goddess   MUT   pouring   out  Water   from   the   Sycamore 
Tree   over   the   deceased  and   His   Soul. 


NUT  107 

"  Underworld."  The  text  reads  : — "  Hail,  thou  sycamore  of  the 
"  goddess  Nut !  Grant  thou  to  me  of  the  water  and  of  the  air 
"  which  dwell  in  thee.  I  embrace  the  throne  which  is  in  Unnu 
"  (Hermopolis),  and  I  watch  and  guard  the  egg  of  the  Great 
"  Cackler.1  It  groweth,  I  grow ;  it  liveth,  I  live  ;  it  snuffeth  the 
"air,  I  snuff  the  air."  To  make  sure  that  the  recital  of  these 
words  should  have  the  proper  result  they  were  accompanied  by  a 
vignette,  in  which  the  goddess  is  seen  standing  in  a  tree,  out  of 
which  she  reaches  to  the  deceased  with  one  hand  a  table  covered 
with  bread  and  other  articles  of  food ;  with  the  other  she  sprinkles 
water  upon  him  from  a  libation  vase  as  he  kneels  at  the  foot  of 
a  tree. 

The  sycamore  of  Nut  was  situated  at  Heliopolis,  and  is  often 
mentioned  in  mythological  texts.  According  to  the  Book  of  the 
Dead  (cix.  4)  there  were  two  turquoise-coloured  sycamores  at 
Heliopolis,  and  the  Suu-god  passed  out  between  them  each  morning 
when  he  began  his  journey  across  the  sky,  and  "  strode  forward 

"over  the  supports  of  Shu  (i.e.,  the  four  pillars,  I     T,  which  bore 

"  up  the  sky)  towards  the  gate  of  the  East  through  which  Ra 
"  rose."  The  sycamore  of  Nut  was  probably  one  of  these,  but  in 
any  case  Apep,  the  personification  of  darkness  and  evil,  was  slain 
at  its  foot  by  the  Great  Cat  Ra,  and  the  branches  of  this  tree 
became  a  place  of  refuge  for  weary  souls  during  the  fiery  heats  of 
noonday  in  the  summer  time.  Here  they  were  refreshed  with 
that  food  whereon  the  goddess  herself  lived,  and  here  they 
participated  in  the  life  of  the  divine  beings  who  were  her  offspring 
and  associates.  Since  the  mythological  tree  of  Nut  stood  at 
Heliopolis  and  was  a  sycamore  it  may  well  have  served  as  the 
archetype  of  the  sycamore  tree  under  which  tradition  asserts  that 
the  Virgin  Mary  sat  and  rested  during  her  flight  to  Egypt,  and 
there  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  many  of  the  details  about  her 
wanderings  in  the  Delta,  which  are  recorded  in  the  Apocryphal 
Gospels  and  in  writings  of  a  similar  class,  are  borrowed  from  the 
old  mythology  of  Egypt.     Associated  with  the  sycamore  of  Nut 

1  I.e.,  the  Egg  out  of  which  sprang  the  Sun,  which  was  produced  by  Seb  and 
Nut. 


108  NUT 

were  the  plants  among  which  the  Great  Cackler  Seb  laid  the  Egg 
of  the  Sun,  and  these  may  well  be  identified  with  the  famous 
balsam  trees,  from  which  was  expressed  the  oil  which  was  so 
highly  prized  by  the  Christians  of  Egypt  and  Abyssinia,  and  which 
was  used  by  them  in  their  ceremony  of  baptism ;  these  trees  were 
always  watered  with  water  drawn  from  the  famous  'Ain  Shems 
(a  name  really  meaning  the  "  Eye  of  the  Sun  "),  i.e.,  the  well  of 
water  which  is  fed  by  a  spring  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood, 
and  is  commonly  called  the  "  Fountain  of  the  Sun."  We  may 
note  in  passing  another  legend,  which  was  popular  among  the 
Copts,  to  the  effect  that  the  Virgin  Mary  once  hid  herself  and  her 
Son  from  their  enemies  in  the  trunk  of  the  sycamore  at  Heliopolis, 
and  that  it  is  based  upon  an  ancient  Egyptian  myth  recorded  by 
Plutarch  which  declared  that  Isis  hid  the  body  of  Osiris  in  a  tree 
trunk. 

In  the  later  times  of  Egyptian  history  the  priests  of  Dendera 
asserted  that  the  home  of  Nut  was  in  their  city,  and  in  an  inscrip- 
tion on  their  temple  *  they  recorded  that  it  was  the  birthplace, 

,    of   Isis,    and    that   it    contained    the    birth- chamber, 

' '  ®  i  wherein  Nut  brought  forth  the  goddess  in  the  form  of 

a  dark-skinned  child,  whom  she  called  "  Khnemet-ankhet,  the  lady 

of  love,"  fj  ^  nr  O  ^^  t=t  ,  on  the  fourth  of  the  five  epagomenal 

days.     When  Nut  saw  her  child,  she  exclaimed,  "As  nHl,  i.e., 

behold),  I  have  become  thy  mother,"  and  this  was  the  origin  of 
the  name  Ast,  or  Isis.     In  Thebes  Nut  was  identified  with  Isis, 

the  god-mother,  A\  <=>  vv ,  the  lady  of  Dendera,  the  dweller  in 

Ant,  the  goddess  Nubt,  i*to<M    wk0  was  bc-ra  in  Per-Nubt,   and 

gave  birth  to  her  brother  Osiris  in  Thebes,  and  to  her  son  Horus 

(the  Elder)  in  Qesqeset,  2 •>  and  to   her  sister   Nephthys   in 

Het-Seshesh,       I  ^;     and  in  the  same  city  she  was  regarded  as  a 

1  Brugsch,  Astronomische  unci  Astrologische  Inschriften  Altaegyptisclier  Denk- 
mdler,  Leipzig,  1883,  p.  101. 

2  Brugsch,  Diet.  G6og.,  p.  865. 


P 


NUT  109 

form  of  the  goddess  Apet,  (J  °  HI ,  or  An,  (j  °  II ,  i.e.,  the  hippo- 
potamus goddess  Ta-ubt,  o  "^\  5fe  1,  an(*  also  of  the  local 
city   goddess    Apet,    \\  ^  (2  ^  J  ?    and    s0    she    became    a    form 

of  Hathor.  The  identification  of  Nut  with  Api  the  hippo- 
potamus goddess  is  very  ancient,  for  in  the  text  of  Unas 
(line  487  ff.)  we  read,  "  Come  Shu,  come  Shu,  come  Shu,  for 
'Unas  is  born  on  the  thighs  of  Isis,  and  he  hath  sunk  down 
'  on  the  thighs  of  Nephthys,  having  been  brought  forth.  0 
'Temu,  thou  father  of  Unas,  grant  that  Unas  himself  may  be 
'  set  among  the  number  of  the  gods  who  are  perfect,  and 
'  have  understanding,  and  are  indestructible ; x  0  Api,  mother 
'  of  Unas,2  give  thou  thy  breast  to  this  Unas  in  order  that  he 
1  may  convey  it  to  his  mouth,  and  that  he  may  suck  milk  there- 
'  from."     Another  form  of  Nut  was  Heqet,   fi      °  JJ ,  a  goddess 

who  was,  strictly  speaking,  the  female  counterpart  of  Sebek-Ra  of 
Koni  Ombo. 

As  the  children  of  Nut  were  not  all  brought  forth  in  one 
place  so  they  were  not  all  born  on  the  same  day ;  her  five  children, 
i.e.,  Osiris,  Horus,  Set,  Isis,  and  Nephthys,  were  born  on  the  five 
epagomenal  days  of  the  year,  or  as  they  are  called  in  Egyptian,  "  the 

five  days  over  the  year,"    ®  j  Q.      On  the  first,  Sf^,  took 

J  J      '     mil  e  in  I   i  '  ®  □' 

place  the  birth  of  Osiris,  tfj  M  J  ft ,  on  the  second,  ® ,  was  born 
Heru-ur,  fl  [1  ~  fl  ^  f| ,  on  the  third,  ® ,  was  born  Set,  f|]  fl  ~  |5) 
^j,  on  the  fourth,  ©,  was  born  Isis,  |  [1  ~  JS)  jj~(^,  and  on 
the   fifth,     0(,    was   born   Nephthys,    |  [1  §)  ^  Q  ^  j^-     The 

first,  third,  and  fifth  of  the  epagomenal  days  were  unlucky,  Q£x, 
the  second  is  not  described  as  either  lucky  or  unlucky,  but  the 
fourth  is  said  to  be  a   "beautiful  festival  of  heaven  and  earth," 


*** 


110 


NUT 


<Z£?  T  V  F  "V  The  part  which  Nut  played  in  the  Egyptian 
Underworld  was  a  very  prominent  one,  and  from  numerous 
passages  in  the  Book  of  the  Bead  we  can  see  that  without  her 
favour  life  would  be  impossible  for  those  who  have  left  this  world, 
and  have  begun  their  journey  through  the  Tuat.  The  care  and 
protection  which  Nut  exhibited  towards  her  son  Osiris  caused  her 
to  be  regarded  as  a  tender  and  pitiful  mother,  and  every  pious 
Egyptian  prayed  that  she  might  do  for  him  even  as  she  had  done 
for  Osiris,  and  hoped  that  through  her  he  might  shine  in  heaven 
like  the  star  Sept  (A^,  Sothis),  when  it  shines  in  the  sky  just 

before  sunrise. 

The  favour  of  Nut  gave  the  deceased  the  power  to  rise  in  a 
renewed  body,  even  as  Ra  rose  from  the  Egg  which  was  produced 
by  Seb  and  Nut,  and  it  enabled  him  to  journey  with  the  Sun-god 
each  day  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  and  to  pass  through  the  dreary 
habitations  of  the  Tuat  in  safety.  So  far  back  as  the  time  of 
Men-kau-Ra  (Mycerinus)  the  Egyptians  delighted  to  inscribe  on 
the  cover  of  the  coffins  of  their  dead  a  portion  of  the  following 
extract : — 


I      W      I      /\       AA/WVi 


peshesh-nes  mut-lc 

Spread eth  herself    thy  mother 


Nut 
Nut 


9 


her-k 
over  thee 


em 
in 


verts 
her  name 


D   ^ 


At1 


en  shet-rpet  ertd-s  un-nek         em 

of    coverer  of  heaven,    she  maketh     thee  to  be       as 


1 

neter 
a  god 


an 
without 


««=-    k 


khefti-k 
thine  enemy 


em 
in 


1 


ren-k  en       neter 

thy  name        of       god, 


1  Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  p.  481. 


NUT  111 

ekl1    ■=»$  k-*  2    ^^Vk™P 

Ichnem-s  thu  ma        lihet      neb        tut        em      ren-s 

she  withdraweth  thee  from     thing  every      evil       in  her  name 

sk-M^      ¥*  — fc-  ^    A-D- 

Khnemet     tu       neb  urt  thut  Urd  dm 

of  "  Defender  from  every  evil,  great       lady ;    and  from  Ura  whom 

iw 

mesu-s 
she  hath  brought  forth  ;  " 

and  whenever  it  was  possible  they  painted  on  them  figures  of  the 
goddess,  who  was  represented  with  her  protecting  wings  stretched 
out  over  the  deceased,  and  with  the  emblems  of  celestial  water  and 
air  in  her  hands.  They  believed  that  the  dead  were  safely  under 
the  protection  of  the  goddess  when  a  picture  of  her  was  painted 
on  the  cover  of  the  coffin  above  them,  and  they  rarely  forgot  to 
suggest  her  presence  in  one  form  or  the  other. 

The  following  passages  from  the  text  of  Pepi  I.  (line  100  if.) 
illustrate  other  aspects  of  the  goddess : — "  Hail,  Nut,  in  whose 
"  head  appear  the  Two  Eyes  (i.e.,  Sun  and  Moon),  thou  hast  taken 
"  possession  of  Horus  and  art  his  Urt-hekau  (i.e.,  mighty  one  of 
"  words  of  power),  thou  hast  taken  possession  of  Set  and  art  his 
"Urt-hekau.  Behold,  0  Nut,  who  didst  decree  that  thou  shouldst 
"  be  born  in  thy  name  of  Pet-Annu  (i.e.,  Sky  of  Heliopolis),  decree 
"  thou  that  this  Pepi  shall  live,  and  that  he  may  not  perish. 
"  0  Nut,  who  hast  risen  as  a  queen  that  thou  mayest  take  posses- 
"  sion  of  the  gods  and  of  their  doubles,  and  their  flesh  and  their 
"  divine  food,  and  of  everything  whatsoever  which  they  have,  grant 
"  thou  that  he  may  be  without  opposition,  and  that  he  may  live, 
"  and  let  thy  life,  0  Nut,  be  the  life  of  Pepi.  Thy  mother  cometh 
"to  thee  and  thou  mo  vest  not.  Nut  cometh  to  thee  and  thou 
"  mo  vest  not.     The  Great   Protectress  cometh  to   thee  and  thou 

1  See  text  of  Teta,  11.  175,  279 ;  Pepi  I.,  11.  60,  103. 


112  NUT 

"  movest  not,  but  as  soon  as  she  hath  bestowed  her  protection  upon 
"  thee  thou  dost  move,  for  she  hath  given  thee  thy  head,  she  hath 
"  brought  to  thee  thy  bones,  she  hath  collected  thy  flesh,  she  hath 
"  brought  thee  thy  heart  in  thy  body,  thou  livest  according  to  thy 
"precepts,  thou  speakest  to  those  who  are  before  thee,  thou 
"protectest  thy  children  from  grief,  thou  purifiest  thyself  with  the 
"purifications  of  all  the  gods,  and  they  come  to  thee  with  their 
"  doubles." 


(     113     ) 


CHAPTER   VI 


OSIRIS,  j^,  AS-AR,    OR   jg,  ^, 


FROM  the  hieroglyphic  texts  of  all  periods  of  the  dynastic 
history  of  Egypt  we  learn  that  the  god  of  the  dead,  par 
excellence,  was  the  god,  whom  the  Egyptians  called  by  a  name 
which  may  be  tentatively  transcribed  As-ar,  or  Us-ar,  who  is 
commonly  known  to  us  as  "  Osiris."     The  oldest  and  simplest  form 

of  the  name  is     \\    ,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  written  bv  means  of  two 

hieroglyphics,  the  first  of  which  represents  a  "throne"  and  the 
other  an  "eye,"  but  the  exact  meaning  attached  to  the  combination 
of  the  two  pictures  by  those  who  first  used  them  to  express  the 
name  of  the  god,  and  the  signification  of  the  name  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  invented  it  cannot  be  said.  In  the  late  dynastic  period 
the  first  syllable  of  the  name  appears  to  have  been  pronounced 
Aus  or  Us,  and  by  punning  it  was  made  to  have  the  meaning  of 
the  word  usr,  "  strength,  might,  power,"  and  the  like,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  Egyptians  at  that  time  supposed  the  name 
of  the  god  to  mean  something  like  the  "  strength  of  the  Eye,"  i.e., 
the  strength  of  the  Sun-god  Ra.  This  meaning  may  very  well 
have  suited  their  conception  of  the  god  Osiris,  but  it  cannot  be 
accepted  as  the  correct  signification  of  the  name.  For  similar 
reasons  the  suggestion  that  the  name  As-ar  is  connected  with  the 
Egyptian  word  for  "prince,"  or  "  chief,"  ser,  cannot  be  entertained. 
It  is  probable  that  the  second  hieroglyphic  in  the  name  As-ar  is  to 

i  Other  forms  are  j  Q  ^ ,  Usr-Ra,  ^  [1  <=>  ^,  User,  -f]  ^  ()(] 


Uasri,  and   M  (§_  |l  ^jj,  Ausares. 

II — I 


114  OSIR1S-UNNEFER 

be  understood  as  referring  to  the  great  Eye  of  heaven,  i.e.,  Ra,  but 
the  connexion  of  the  first  with  it  is  not  clear,  and  as  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing  what  attributes  were  assigned  to  the  god  by  his 
earliest  worshippers  the  difficulty  is  hardly  likely  to  be  cleared  up. 
The  throne  or  seat,  jj ,  is  the  first  sign  in  the  name  of  As-t,  jj  o , 
who  is  the  female  counterpart  of  Osiris,  and  it  is  very  probable 
that  originally  the  same  conception  underlay  both  names.  It  is 
useless  to  argue1  that,  because  the  dynastic  Egyptians  at  a  late 
period  of  their  history  substituted  the  disk  of  Ra,  O,  for  the 
eye,  -<s>-,  in  the  name  As-ar,  and  because  they  addressed  to  the 
o-od  hymns  in  which  they  identified  him  as  the  source  of  light  and 
as  Ra,  therefore  As-ar  was  originally  a  solar  god,  especially  when 
we  remember  the  childish  plays  upon  words  which  the  priests 
resorted  to  whenever  they  attempted  to  find  etymologies  for  the 
names  of  their  gods. 

In    comparatively   late    times    Osiris    was    called    Un-nefer, 

^J^  T  3 ,  in  religious  and  mythological  texts,  and  the  priests  (like 

/wwv\     U  i — 1 

modern  Egyptologists)  tried  to  explain  the  name.     The  writer  of  a 

hymn   quoted  by  Dr.  Brugsch   derived  the  word  from  un,  ~Sk$* 

"  to  open,  to  appear,  to  make  manifest,"  and  neferu,  T  *^~  v\  ■   i , 

"  good  things,"  and  when  he  wrote,  "  Thy  beauty  (or  goodness) 
"  maketh  itself  manifest  in  thy  person  to  rouse  the  gods  to  life  in 
"thy  name  Un-nefer,"  it  is  clear  that  he  was  only  making  a  play 
of  words  on  the  name  "Un-nefer";  and  again  when  he  wrote, 
"Thou  comest  as  the  strength  (usr)  of  Ra  in  thy  name  of  As-ar," 
his  object  was  rather  to  play  with  words  on  the  name  As-ar  than 
to  afford  a  trustworthy  derivation  of  the  name  of  Osiris.  We  may 
note  in  passing  that  modern  derivations  and  explanations  of  the 
name  Un-nefer  are  equally  unsatisfactory.2  The  truth  of  the 
matter  seems  to  be  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  knew  just  as  little 

1  See  Brugsch,  Religion,  p.  81. 

2  According  to  one  writer  the  name  means  "  beautiful  hare,"  and  according  to 
another  the  "  Good  Being  "  ;  in  one  case  un  is  connected  with  the  verb  un,  "  to  be," 

and  in  the  other  with  the  god  Un,  -^*  JH ,  or  Unti,  t$0%  J]  ,  who  is  mentioned 

in  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  Chapters  xv.  (Litany),  1  ;  cxxxvi.A  7. 


OSIRIS  -  UNNEFER. 


ATTRIBUTES    OF    OSIRIS  115 

about  the  original  meaning  of  the  name  As-ar  as  we  do,  and  that 
they  had  no  better  means  of  obtaining  information  about  it  than 
we  have. 

Passing  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  original  characteristics 
and  attributes  of  Osiris  we  find  that  the  oldest  religious  texts 
known  to  us  refer  to  him  as  the  great  god  of  the  dead,  and 
throughout  them  it  is  tacitly  assumed  that  the  reader  will  under- 
stand that  he  once  possessed  human  form  and  lived  upon  earth, 
and  that  by  means  of  some  unusual  power  or  powers  he  was  able 
to  bestow  upon  himself  after  his  death  a  new  life  which  he  lived  in 
a  new  body  in  a  region  over  which  he  ruled  as  king,  and  into 
which  he  was  believed  to  be  willing  to  admit  all  such  as  had  lived 
a  good  and  correct  life  upon  earth,  and  had  been  buried  with 
appropriate  ceremonies  under  the  protection  of  certain  amulets, 
and  with  the  proper  recital  of  certain  "  divine  words  "  and  words 
of  power.  The  worship  of  Osiris  is,  however,  very  much  older 
than  these  views,  which,  it  is  clear,  could  only  belong  to  a  people 
who  had  advanced  to  a  comparatively  high  state  of  civilization  and 
of  mental  development. 

The  oldest  authorities  for  the  religious  views  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  are  the  "  Pyramid  Texts,"  which  are  known  to  us  from 
copies  made  in  the  IVth,  Vth  and  Vlth  Dynasties,  that  is  to  say, 
in  the  period  of  their  highest  development ;  even  at  this  remote 
time  the  priests  of  Annu  had  composed  a  system  of  theology  which 
was  supported  by  the  authority  of  the  king  and  his  high  officials, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  based  upon  older  systems  of 
religious  thought  and  belief.  What  these  may  have  been  it  is 
useless  to  speculate,  and  all  that  is  certain  about  the  Heliopolitan 
system  is  that,  whilst  proclaiming  the  supremacy  of  their  local 
god  Tern  or  Ra-Tem,  its  priests  took  care  to  include  in  it  as  many 
of  the  ancient  provincial  gods  as  possible,  and  to  adopt  wherever 
they  were  able  to  do  so  the  ancient  beliefs  and  traditions  concern- 
ing them.  Among  such  gods  Osiris  held  a  very  prominent  place, 
in  fact  he  was  in  respect  of  the  dead  and  of  the  Underworld  what 
Ra,  or  Ra-Tem  was  to  the  living  and  to  this  world,  and  in  some 
passages  he  is  referred  to  simply  as  "  god,"  T,  without  the  addition 
of  any  name.     No  other  god  of  the  Egyptians  was  ever  mentioned 


116  WORSHIP    OF    OSIRIS 

or  alluded  to  in  this  manner,  and  no  other  god  at  any  time  in 
Egypt  ever  occupied  exactly  the  same  exalted  position  in  their 
minds,  or  was  thought  to  possess  his  peculiar  attributes. 

Up  to  the  present  no  evidence  has  been  deduced  from  the 
hieroglyphic  texts  which  enables  us  to  say  specifically  when  Osiris 
began  to  be  worshipped,  or  in  what  town  or  city  his  cult  was  first 
established,  but  the  general  information  which  we  possess  on  this 
subject  indicates  that  this  god  was  adored  as  the  great  god  of  the 
dead  by  the  dynastic  Egyptians  from  first  to  last,  and  that  the 
earliest  dynastic  centres  of  his  worship  were  situated  at  Abydos 
in  the  South  and  at  Tettu  (Mendes)  in  the  North ;  in  proof  of 
these  statements  the  following  considerations  are  submitted.  In  a 
Rubric  to  one  of  the  versions  of  the  lxivth  Chapter  of  the  Theban 
Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Bead  it  is  said  that  the  Chapter  was 
"  found  "  during  the  reign  of  Semti,1  that  is  to  say,  the  Chapter 
was  revised,  or  edited,  or  re-written,  or  received  some  kind  of 
literary  treatment,  during  the  reign  of  the  fifth  king  of  the 
1st  Dynasty.  If  we  look  at  the  version  of  the  Chapter  to  which 
this  Rubric  is  appended  we  find  this  sentence  : — "  I  am  Yesterday, 
"  and  I  am  To-day  ;  and  I  have  the  power  to  be  born  a  second  time. 
"  I  the  hidden  Soul  create  the  gods,  and  I  give  sepulchral  meals  to 
"  the  divine  beings  in  Amenti  and  in  heaven."  Osiris  is  mentioned 
by  name  in  connexion  with  "  his  city,"  and  Tern,  Khepera, 
Shu,  the  Urti  goddesses,  i.e.,  Isis  and  Nephthys,  the  goddess 
Aukert,  the  Chief  of  Re-stau,  Hehi,  the  Bennu,  and  the  4,601,200 
spirits,  who  are  twelve  cubits  high,  are  referred  to,  and  we  see  that 
the  whole  of  the  religious  and  mythological  systems  of  the 
Egyptians  as  made  known  to  us  by  texts  of  later  periods  were  in  a 
well- developed  state  even  in  the  1st  Dynasty. 

Confirmation  of  this  fact  is  afforded  by  a  small  wooden  plaque, 
in  the  British  Museum,  which  was  made  for  a  "  royal  chancellor  " 

called  Hemaka,  X  Jp  [_J ,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Semti,  the 

king  in  whose  reign  the  lxivth  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead 
was  "  found."  On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  plaque  is  a  scene  in 
which  the  king  is  represented  in  the  act  of  dancing  before  a  deity, 

1  His  name  was  formerly  read  Hesepti. 


SEMTI    AND    OSIRIS  117 

who  wears  the  crown  of  the  South  and  is  seated  within  a  shrine 
set  upon  the  top  of  some  steps ;  from  various  texts  and  scenes 
inscribed  upon  papyri  and  coffins,  etc.,  of  the  New  Empire  we 
know  that  Osiris  was  called  the  "  god  on  the  top  of  the  steps,"  and 
that  he  was  depicted  as  a  being  seated  in  a  shrine  set  on  the  top  of 
a  flight  of  steps,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  god  before  whom 
Semti  danced  was  Osiris.  Immediately  below  the  scene  on  the 
plaque  described  above  is  a  representation  of  a  ceremonial  boat, 
and  if  we  compare  it  with  certain  vignettes  in  the  Boole  of  the  Dead 
and  elsewhere  we  cannot  fail  to  identify  it  as  the  well-known 
Hennu  Boat  of  the  god  Seker  (Socharis).  Now,  in  the  Rubric  of 
the  Chapter  already  referred  to,  we  are  told  that  the  Chapter  was 
found  "  in  the  foundations  of  the  shrine  of  Hennu,"  and  thus  the 
Chapter  and  the  god  Hennu,  i.e.,  the  god  of  the  Hennu  Boat,  were 
in  existence  in  the  1st  Dynasty,  and  they  were  in  some  way 
specially  connected  with  king  Semti — if  we  are  to  believe  an 
Egyptian  tradition  which  was  current  under  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty, 
about  B.C.  1G00.  Moreover,  if  the  gods  whom  the  Egyptians  under 
the  IV th  and  Vth  Dynasties  declared  to  belong  to  the  company  of 
Osiris  existed  under  the  1st  Dynasty,  Osiris  also  must  have  existed, 
and  the  mention  of  the  Underworld  by  the  name  of  Amenti,  or 
Amentet,  presupposes  the  existence  of  its  god  and  king,  one  of 
whose  chief  titles  was  Khenti-Amenti.  It  is  important  to  note 
also  that  on  the  plaque  of  Hemaka  Osiris  wears  the  White  Crown, 
or  Crown  of  the  South,  a  fact  which  suggests  that  at  the  time 
when  it  was  made  he  was  regarded  as  a  god  of  the  South,  and  to 
note  that  although  in  later  times  his  cult  was  general  throughout 
Egypt  he  was  always  represented  with  the  White  Crown  on  his 
head,  and  that  it  was  one  of  his  most  characteristic  attributes. 

The  plaque  of  Hemaka  proves  that  a  centre  of  the  Osiris  cult 
existed  at  Abydos  under  the  1st  Dynasty,  but  we  are  not  justified 
in  assuming  that  the  god  was  first  worshipped  there,  and  when  we 
remember  the  frequent  allusions  in  the  Pyramid  Texts  to  Pe  and 
Tep,  the  two  divisions  of  the  city  of  Per-Uatchet  in  the  Delta,  it  is 
difficult  not  to  think  that  even  under  the  1st  Dynasty  shrines 
had  been  built  in  honour  of  Osiris  at  several  places  in  Egypt. 
Dynastic  tradition  asserted  that  the  head  of  Osiris  was  buried  at 


118  OSIRIS    KHENT-AMENTI 

Abydos,  and  for  this  reason  that  city  became  of  the  first  importance 
to  worshippers  of  the  god,  but  we  know  that  the  local  god  of  the 
nome  was  An-Her,  and  that  his  cult  was  thrust  out  by  that  of 
Osiris,  who  was  adored  under  the  title  of  "  Osiris  Khent-Amenti ;  " 
there  must  then  have  been  a  time  when  Osiris  was  brought  to 
Abydos,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  was  introduced  into  that  city 
from  the  North,  for  the  following  reasons.  In  the  Pyramid  Texts, 
which  are  the  oldest  exponents  of  the  religious  system  which  made 
Osiris  the  supreme  god  of  the  dead,  we  have  frequent  allusions  to 
the  food  and  drink  which  the  deceased  enjoys,  and  to  the  apparel 
wherein  he  is  arrayed  in  the  Underworld.  We  find  that  he  wears 
white  linen  garments  and  sandals,  that  he  sits  by  a  lake  in  the 
Field  of  Peace  with  the  gods,  and  partakes  with  them  of  the  tree  of 
life,  ^  a*a^a  ■¥•  9  and  that  he  eats  figs  and  grapes,  and  drinks 
oil  and  wine,  and  that  he  lives  on  the  "  bread  of  eternity,"  and 
the  "  beer  of  everlastingness, '  ^  Q  ™^    XI    ft      =0= 


His  bread  was  made  of  the  wheat  which  Horus  ate,  and  the  four 
children  of  Horus,  Mestha,  Hfipi,  Tuamutef,  and  Qebhsennuf 
"  appeased  the  hunger  of  his  belly,  and  the  thirst  of  his  lips."  He 
abhorred  the  hunger  which  he  could  not  satisfy,  and  he  loathed 
the  thirst  which  he  could  not  slake,  and  one  of  the  greatest  delights 
of  his  existence  was  the  knowledge  that  he  was  "  delivered  from 
the  power  of  those  who  would  steal  away  his  food." 

Another  source  of  great  joy  was  the  power  which  he  possessed 
of  washing  himself  clean,  and  he  and  his  double  are  represented  as 
sitting  down  to  eat  bread  together,  each  having  washed  himself 
clean ;  yet  another  source  of  enjoyment  was  his  journeying  by 
water  in  a  boat  which  was  rowed  by  the  mariners  of  the  Sun-god 
Ra.  All  these  and  similar  statements  point  clearly  to  the  fact  that 
the  reward  which  Osiris  bestowed  after  death  upon  his  follower 
was  a  life  which  he  led  in  a  region  where  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil, 
and  water  were  abundant,  and  where  circumstances  permitted  him 
to  wear  white  linen  robes  and  white  sandals,  and  where  he  was  not 
required  to  do  work  of  any  kind,  and  where  he  was  able  to  perforin 

1  See  the  Chapter  "  Doctrine  of  Eternal  Life  "  in  my  Papyrus  of  Ani,  London, 
1894,  pp.  lxxv.-lxxvii. 


ANGELS    OF    THOTH  119 

his  ablutions  at  will,  and  to  repose  whensoever  it  pleased  him  to 
do  so.  He  possessed  his  own  estate,  or  homestead,  where  he  abode 
with  his  parents,  and  presumably  with  a  wife,  or  wives,  and 
family,  and  his  heavenly  life  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
nothing  but  a  duplicate  of  his  life  upon  earth.  In  several  passages 
in  the  Pyramid  Texts  we  also  have  allusions  to  a  life  in  which  his 
enjoyments  and  delights  were  of  a  more  spiritual  character,  but  it 
is  evident  that  these  represent  the  beliefs  and  doctrines  of  the 
priests  of  Ra,  who  declared  that  the  blessed  fed  upon  light,  and 
were  arrayed  in  light  and  became  beings  of  light,  and  that  the 
place  wherein  they  lived  was  the  boat  of  the  Sun-god  Ra,  wherein 
they  passed  over  heaven,  and  wherefrom  their  souls  flew  down 
to  earth  to  visit  the  scenes  of  their  former  life.  Thus,  as  far  back 
as  the  period  of  the  Vth  Dynasty  texts  belonging  to  two  distinct 
cults,  i.e.,  the  cult  of  Osiris  and  the  cult  of  Ra,  existed  side  by  side, 
and  no  attempt  appears  to  have  been  made  to  suppress  either  that 
of  Osiris  or  that  of  Ra ;  in  other  words,  the  priests  of  Heliopolis 
had  the  good  sense  to  allow  the  beliefs  which  were  connected  with 
the  cult  of  Osiris  to  find  expression  in  the  great  Recension  of 
religious  texts  which  they  promulgated  about  B.C.  3500.  The  cult 
of  Osiris  was  very  ancient,  and  was  universal,  and  they  saw  that 
the  cult  of  Ra  would  not  take  its  place  in  the  minds  of  the 
Egyptians  for  a  very  considerable  time,  if  ever. 

From  what  has  been  said  above  it  is  quite  clear  that  the 
followers  of  Osiris  believed  in  a  material  heaven,  and  we  have  now 
to  consider  where  that  heaven  Avas  situated.     In  a  passage  in  the 

text  of  Unas  (line  1 9 1  if.)  the  Angels  of  Thoth,  ^  V  ^  ^  ^  ^ , 

and     the    Ancient    Ones,       ^     v^,    and    the    Great     Terrifier, 

I  <zs^  \\   v\  ^=s ,  who  cometh  forth  from  the  Nile,  fi  ,  Hap, 

and  Ap-uat,  \f  S=^^£^3:  d^,   who  cometh   forth   from    the 

tree  Asert,  (1  <=>  w ,  are  called  upon  to  witness  that  the  mouth 
of  the  king  is  pure,  because  he  eats  and  drinks  nothing  except  that 
upon  which  the  gods  live.  The  text  says,  "  Ye  have  taken  Unas 
"  with  you,  and  he  eateth  what  ye  eat,  he  drinketh  that  which  ye 
"  drink,  he  liveth  as  ye  live,  he  dwelleth  as  ye  dwell,  he  is  powerful 


120  THE    MATERIAL    HEAVEN 

"  as  ye  are  powerful,  and  he  saileth  about  as  ye  sail  about "  ;  thus 
the  heaven  where  Unas  lived  after  death  was  in  some  place  where 
there  were  waters  whereon  he  could  sail  in  a  boat.  The  text 
continues,  "Unas  hath  netted  [fowl  and  fish]  with  the  net  in 
"  Aaru,  Unas  hath  possession  over  the  waters  in  Sekhet-hetep, 
"  and  his  offerings  of  meat  and  drink  are  among  the  gods.  The 
"  water  of  Unas  is  as  wine,  even  as  it  is  for  Ra,  and  Unas  goeth 
"  about  heaven  like  Ra,  and  he  traverseth  heaven  like  Thoth." 
From  this  extract  we  see  that  the  region  where  the  heaven  of  Unas 
was  situated  is  called  Aaru,  (I  "%\  _^£  ])])])])  >  *ne  name  having  as 
a  determinative  a  sign  which  is  intended  to  represent  a  mass  of 
waving  reeds;    in  another  place   (line  412)   the  region  is  called 

Sekhet- Aar,  H  ®  jjj]]]  \\  <K\  _s^ ,  and  is  identical  with  the 
Sekhet-Aarru,  DJJO  ^  Q  1^  *ST  ^ '^X  i  n '  anc*  Sekhet- Aanru, 
1 1 Q  "  0  ^\  ™  lm~  ^  ,  of  the  later  Recensions  of  the  Book  of 
the  Dead.  From  a  number  of  other  passages  Ave  find  that  Aaru  or 
Sekhet- Aaru  was  divided  into  a  number  of  districts,  the  chief  of 
which  was  called    Sekhet-hetepet,    000  "J,  1,e->      Viem  oi 


0 
Offerings,"  or  Sekhet-hetep,    (]]]]]  Q     =&=,  i.e.,  "Field  of  Peace,' 

and  was  presided  over  by  the  god  Sekhti-hetep,    000 


To    the   south   of    this    region    lay    Sekhet- Sanehemu, 


Y~)    Mv  V  ^^  ' '  *'e*'  "  Field  °f  ^ne  Grasshoppers,"  l  and  in 
it  were   the   Lakes  of  the  Tuat,  c^>  X       ,  and   the 


Lakes  of  the  Jackals,  L  J  — h—  <k\        v\  -^  a .      In  the 

waters  of  Aaru,  or  Sekhet-Aaru,  Ra  purified  himself  (Pepi  I., 
line  234),  and  it  was  here  that  the  deceased  also  purified  himself 
before  he  began  his  heavenly  life ;  here  also  dwelt  the  three  classes 
of  beings  who  are  called  Akhemu-seku,  Akhemu-Betesh,  and 
Akhemu-Sesh-emau,2  that  is  to  say,  three  classes  of  celestial  bodies 

1  See  Book  of  the  Bead,  cxxv.  Pt.  iii.,  1.  19. 


1- 


?$.q»k--*jsr. 


oo 


THE     SEKHET-HETEPl 


[FROM    THE    PAPYRUS   OF   AN 


ANI    Ploughing    and    Reaping   and* 

of   TM 


OR     ELYSIAN     FIELDS 


»RIT.    MUS.    NO.    10470,    SHEET    35).] 


'RSHIPPING     THE     GODS     IN     THE     ABODE 
LESSED. 


THE    MATERIAL    HEAVEN  121 

or  beings  who  were  thought  never  to  diminish,  ojp  melt  away, 
or  decay. 

All  the  evidence  as  to  the  position  of  the  region  Aaru  shows 
that  originally  it  was  thought  to  be  in  the  sky,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  are  indications  that  it  was  entered  from  certain  places 
in  the  Delta,  and  among  such  was  the  region  which  contained  the 
double  city,  Pe-Tep  and  Tettu,  or  Tatau.  Thus  in  a  passage  in 
the  text  of  Pepi  I.  (line  255)  it  is  said,  "  Pepi  hath  gone  forth  from 
"  Pe,  and  from  being  with  the  Souls  of  Pe,  and  as  he  is  arrayed  in 
"  the  apparel  of  Horus,  and  in  the  garment  of  Thoth,  and  as  Isis  is 
"  before  him  and  Nephthys  is  behind  him,  Apuat  openeth  a  way 
"  for  him,  and  Shu  beareth  him  up,  and  the  Souls  of  Annu  make 
"him  to  mount  the  steps  that  they  may  present  him  to  Nut 
"  who  stretcheth  out  her  hands  to  him,  even  as  they  did  for 
"  Osiris    when    he    arrived   in   the    other   world.     0    Hra-f-ha-f 

v*L_    w    jjJk*^')'      ^eP*   *iatk  Journeyed    on    to    Sekhet-Aar, 
"  (P  J  HilH  =»  \  ^  o^>  JSd  J)  ,  be  hath  come  forth  from  Uart, 

"  Vol  w\  ^  ^ ) '  ana"  s^nce  ne  *s  *ne  D0(ty  which  hath  come  forth 
"from  God,  and  the  uraeus  which  hath  come  forth  from  Ra,  he 
"  hath  sailed  on  to  Sekhet-Aar,  having  the  four  Spirits  of  Horus, 
"Hap,  Amset,  Tuamutef,  and  Qebhsennuf,  with  him,  two  on  each 
"  side."  This  view  of  the  position  of  Sekhet-Aaru  is  supported  by 
several  passages  in  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead, 
and  the  pictures  of  the  district,  with  its  lakes  and  canals  which 
form  the  vignettes  to  the  cxth  Chapter,  indicate  that  it  was 
situated  to  the  north  of  Egypt.  The  name  Sekhet-Aaru  appears 
to  mean  "Field  of  Reeds"  or  "Field  of  Plants,"  and  the  idea 
conveyed  by  it  was  that  of  some  very  fertile  region  where  farming- 
operations  could  be  carried  on  with  ease  and  success,  and  where  it 
would  be  possible  to  possess  a  large,  well-kept,  and  well-stocked 
homestead,  situated  at  no  great  distance  from  the  Nile,  or  from 
one  of  its  main  branches.  In  the  text  the  deceased  prays,  "  Let 
"  me  have  the  power  to  order  my  own  fields  in  Tettu,  and  my  own 
"  growing  crops  in  Annu.     Let  me  live  upon  bread  made  of  white 

1  I.e.,  "  He  whose  face  is  behind  him." 


122  TETTU-BUSIRIS 

"grain,  and  let  my  beer  be  made  from  red  grain,  and  may  the 
"  persons  of  my  father  and  mother  be  given  unto  me  as  guardians 
"  of  my  door,  and  for  the  ordering  of  my  homestead.  Let  me  be 
"  sound  and  strong,  and  let  me  have  much  room  wherein  to  move, 
"and  let  me  be  able  to  sit  wheresoever  I  please  "  (Chapter  Hi.). 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Tettu,  then,  the  original  Sekhet- 
Aaru  was  thought  to  be  located,  and  in  Tettu  the  reconstruction  of 
the  dismembered  body  of  Osiris  took  place,  and  it  was  here  that 
the  solemn  ceremony  of  setting  up  his  backbone  was  performed 

each  year.     The  city  of  Tettu,  ft  ft  csi  %  S ,  or  Tatau, 


here  referred  to  was  the  capital  of  the  ninth  nome  of  Lower 
Egypt  called  Per-Asar-neb-Tettu,  '"^  IRj  ^7  ft  e  ^  ^,  by  the 
Egyptians,  and  Busiris  by  the  Greeks.  In  a  portion  of  it  called 
Neb-sekert,  ^37  P<5>[J1],  was  preserved,  according  to  one 
tradition,  the  backbone,  jj^,  of  Osiris;  according  to  another  his 
jaws  were  there  preserved.1 

From  what  has  been  said  above  it  is  clear  that  the  cult  of 
Osiris  is  certainly  as  old  as  the  period  of  the  1st  Dynasty,  and  that 
the  oldest  centre  of  his  worship  was  situated  in  the  Delta.  Every- 
thing which  the  texts  of  all  periods  record  concerning  him  goes  to 
show  that  he  was  an  indigenous  god  of  North-east  Africa,  and  that 
his  home  and  origin  were  possibly  Libyan.  We  have  no  means  of 
finding  out  what  were  the  earliest  conceptions  about  Osiris,  but  it 
seems  that  he  was  originally  a  water  spirit,  or  the  god  of  some  arm 
of  the  Nile,  or  portion  of  the  main  body  of  the  Nile,  and  that 
he  developed  later  into  a  great  water-god  ;  Dr.  Brugsch 2  and 
M.  Maspero3  both  regarded  him  as  a  water-god,  and  rightly 
consider  that  he  represented  the  creative  and  nutritive  powers  of 
the  Nile  stream  in  general  and  of  the  Inundation  in  particular. 

The  natural  opponent  of  Osiris  was  Set,  Avho  typified  death 
and  destruction,  and  who  was  the  god  par  excellence  of  the  desert ; 
and  in  various  forms  and  told  in  different  ways  we  have  the 
narrative  of  the  contest  between  the  powers  of  life  and  death,  and 

1  See  de  Rouge,  Ge'og.  Ancienne,  p.  59.  ~  Religion,  pp.  190,  197. 

3  Histoire  Ancienne,  torn,  i.,  p.  172. 


OSIRIS    AS    WATER-GOD  123 

light  and  darkness,  and  decay  and  regeneration,  which  appears  in 
the  religious  texts  of  every  period.  In  fact,  Set  was  the  opponent 
in  every  way  of  Osiris  who,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Brugsch,  typified 
the  "  unbroken  rejuvenescence  of  immortal  Nature  according  to 
"  the  Divine  Will  and  according  to  eternal  laws."1  In  the  xviith 
Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  the  deceased  says,  "  I  am 
"Yesterday  (u  sef);    I  know  To-day  (^  "v\  "v\  O  tuau)" 

and  in  answer  to  the  question  which  follows,  "  Who  then  is  this  ?  " 
it  is  said,  "  Yesterday  is  Osiris,  and  To-day  is  Rti,  on  the  day  when 
"  he  shall  destroy  the  enemies  of  Neb-er-tcher,  and  when  he  shall 
"  establish  as  prince  and  ruler  his  son  Horus"  (lines  15-18).  This 
passage  proves  that  although  Osiris  was  the  type  of  that  which  is 
gone,  or  dead,  or  the  past,  he  possessed  a  power  of  regeneration 
which  expressed  itself  in  the  young  Horus.  In  his  aspect  of  a 
water-god  Osiris  was  the  personification  of  the  falling  Nile,  or  the 
Nile  in  winter,  and  of  the  night  sun,  and  of  the  winter  sun,  but  he 
was,  nevertheless,  the  cause  of  the  fertility  of  Egypt,  which  was 
personified  as  Isis,  and  was  the  father  of  the  young  Horus,  who  in 
due  course  grew  into  an  Osiris,  and  produced  by  means  of  Isis  a 
young  Horus  to  take  his  place,  becoming  thus  the  "  father  of  his 
father." 2 

Among  a  people  like  the  Egyptians  it  would  not  be  very  long 
before  the  annual  rise,  and  inundation,  and  fall  of  the  Nile  would 
be  compared  to  the  chief  periods  in  the  lives  of  men,  and  before 
the  renewed  rise  of  the  Nile  in  the  following  year  would  be 
compared  to  man's  immortality,  which  in  Egypt  was  taken  for 
granted  from  the  earliest  times ;  and  that  this  is  exactly  what 
happened  the  hieroglyphic  texts  supply  abundant  proof.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  we  find  nowhere  in  Egyptian  works  a 
connected  narrative  of  the  life,  acts  and  deeds,  and  sufferings  and 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Osiris,  the  man-god,  but  we  possess  a 
tolerably  accurate  account  of  them  in  Plutarch's  De  Iside  et 
Osiride.3     The    mythological   history    of  Isis    and    Osiris   by  this 

1  "Die  ununterbrochene  Verji'ingung  der  unsterblichen  Nafcur  nacb  gottlicbem 
Willen  und  nacb  ewigen  Gresetzen,"  liel'ujion,  p.  611. 
3  Brugsch,  Religion,  pp.  612,  613. 
3  Ed.  Didot  (Serijpta  M or  alia,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  427-469),  §  xii.  ff. 


124  ISIS    AND    OSIRIS 

writer  is  so  important  that  an  English  rendering  of  it  by 
Mr.  Squire  is  given  at  the  end  of  this  chapter,  but  it  will  be 
necessary  here  to  summarize  the  main  facts  in  it  in  order  that 
they  may  be  compared  with  the  hieroglyphic  texts  which  refer  to 
the  subject.  According  to  these  Osiris  was  the  son  of  Rhea,  the 
Egyptian  Nut,  the  wife  of  Helios,  the  Egyptian  Ra,  by  Kronos, 
the  Egyptian  Seb  ;  when  Helios  found  that  his  wife  was  with 
child  by  Seb  he  declared  that  she  should  not  be  delivered  of  her 
child  in  any  month  or  in  any  year.  By  a  stratagem  Hermes,  the 
Egyptian  Thoth,  played  at  tables  with  Selene,  and  won  from  her 
the  seventieth  part  of  each  day  of  the  year,  i.e.,  in  all  five  days, 
which  he  added  to  the  year.  On  the  first  of  these  five  days  Osiris 
was  born,  and  a  voice  was  heard  to  proclaim  that  the  lord  of 
creation  was  born.  In  due  course  he  became  king  of  Egypt  and 
taught  men  husbandry,  and  established  a  code  of  laws,  and  made 
men  worship  the  gods ;  when  Egypt  had  become  peaceful  and 
prosperous  he  set  out  to  instruct  the  other  nations  of  the  world, 
and  Isis  ruled  Egypt  during  his  absence.  On  his  return  Typhon, 
the  Egyptian  Set,  and  his  seventy-two  comrades,  made  Osiris  to 
lie  down  in  a  chest,  which  was  immediately  closed  by  them,  and 
cast  into  the  Nile,  which  carried  it  down  to  its  Tanaitic  mouths. 
When  Isis  heard  what  had  befallen  her  husband  she  cut  off  a  lock 
of  her  hair  as  a  sign  of  grief,  and  then  set  out  to  find  his  dead 
body.  At  length  she  traced  it  to  Byblos,  whither  it  had  been 
carried  by  the  sea,  and  she  found  that  the  waves  had  gently  laid 
it  among  the  branches  of  a  tamarisk  tree,  which  had  grown  to  a 
magnificent  size,  and  had  enclosed  the  chest  within  its  trunk. 
The  Byblos  here  referred  to  is  not  Byblos  in  Phoenicia,  but  the 
papyrus  swamps  of  Egypt,  which  are  called  in  Egyptian  Athu, 

(1  c=^=  9   \\  Jf    \X  ,  a  name  meaning  "papyrus  plants;"  the  Greeks 

rendered  the  Egyptian  word  for  "  papyrus"  by  BvfiXos,  and  some 
copyist  of  the  Greek  text  misunderstood  the  signification  of  the 
word  in  this  passage,  and  rendered  it  by  the  name  of  the  city  of 
Phoenicia. 

The  king  of  the  country,  admiring  the  tree,  had  it  cut  down 
and  made  a  pillar  for  the  roof  of  his  house ;  it  is  this  tree  trunk 


ISIS    AND    OSIRIS  125 

which  is  referred  to  by  the  hieroglyphic  sign  u ,  tef,  and  which  is 

continually  used  in  the  texts  with  reference  to  Osiris.  It  has 
been  said  to  represent  a  mason's  table,  but  the  four  cross-bars 
have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  thing,  for  they  are  intended 
to  indicate  the  four  branches  of  a  roof-tree  of  a  house  which 
were  turned  to  the  four  cardinal  points.  When  Isis  heard 
that  the  tree  had  been  cut  down,  she  went  to  the  palace  of 
the  king,  and  through  the  good  offices  of  the  royal  maidens 
she  was  made  nurse  to  one  of  the  king's  sons.  Instead  of 
nursing  the  child  in  the  ordinary  way,  Isis  gave  him  her 
finger  to  suck,  and  each  night  she  put  him  into  the  fire  to 
consume  his  mortal  parts,  changing  herself  the  while  into  a 
swallow  and  bemoaning  her  fate.  On  one  occasion  the  queen 
saw  her  son  in  the  flames,  and  cried  out,  and  thus  deprived 
him  of  immortality.  Then  Isis  told  the  queen  her  story,  and 
begged  for  the  pillar  which  supported  the  roof.  This  she  cut 
open,  and  took  out  the  chest  and  her  husband's  body,  and  departed 
with  them  to  Egypt ;  having  arrived  there  she  hid  the  chest  and 
set  out  in  quest  of  her  son  Horus. 

One  night,  however,  Typhon  was  out  hunting  by  the  light 
of  the  moon,  and  he  found  the  chest,  and  recognizing  the 
body,  tore  it  into  fourteen  pieces,  which  he  scattered  up  and 
down  throughout  the  land.  When  Isis  heard  of  this  she 
took  a  boat  made  of  papyrus  * — a  plant  abhorred  by  crocodiles 
— and  sailing  about  she  gathered  together  the  fragments  of 
Osiris's  body.  Wheresoever  she  found  one,  she  buried  it  and 
built  a  tomb  over  it.  Meanwhile  Horus  had  grown  up,  and 
being  encouraged  in  the  use  of  arms  by  Osiris,  who  returned 
from  the  other  world,  he  went  out  to  do  battle  with  Typhon 
the  murderer  of  his  father.  The  fight  lasted  some  days,  and 
Typhon  was  made  captive,  and  was  given  over  to  the  custody 
of  Isis  who,  however,  set  him  free.  Horus  in  his  rage  tore 
from  her  head  the  royal  diadem,  but  Thoth  gave  her  a  helmet 
in  the  shape  of  a  cow's  head.     In  two  other  battles  fought  between 

1  Moses  was  laid  in  an  ark  of  bulrushes,  and  was  therefore  believed  to  be  safe 
from  the  attacks  of  crocodiles. 


126  VICTORY    OF    HORUS 

Horus  and  Typhon  Horus  was  the  victor.  The  great  battle 
between  Horus  and  Typhon  took  place,  we  are  told  in  the  IVth 
Sallier  Papyrus,  on  the  26th  day  of  the  month  Thoth ;  they  first 
of  all  fought  in  the  form  of  two  men,  but  they  afterwards  changed 
themselves  into  two  bears,  and  they  passed  three  days  and  three 
nights  in  this  form. 

From  the  above  summary  it  is  clear  that  in  Plutarch's  time 
the  Egyptians  believed  that  Osiris  was  the  son  of  a  god,  that  he 
lived  a  good  life  upon  earth  and  ruled  as  a  wise  and  just  king, 
that  he  was  slain  by  the  malice  of  evil  men,  that  his  body  was 
mutilated,  and  that  his  wife  Isis  collected  his  limbs  which  had 
been  scattered  throughout  Egypt  by  Set,  or  Typhon,  and  that 
Osiris  by  some  means  obtained  a  new  life  in  the  next  world,  where 
he  reigned  as  god  and  king.  The  hieroglyphic  texts  contain 
abundant  testimony  that  the  statements  of  Plutarch  are  sub- 
stantially correct,  and  from  first  to  last  Osiris  was  to  the  Egyptians 
the  god-man  who  suffered,  and  died,  and  rose  again,  and  reigned 
eternally  in  heaven.  They  believed  that  they  would  inherit 
eternal  life,  just  as  he  had  done,  provided  that  what  was  done  for 
him  by  the  gods  was  done  for  them,  and  they  made  use  of  amulets, 
and  magical  texts  of  all  kind,  and  performed  ceremonies  connected 
with  sympathetic  magic  in  order  that  they  might  compel  Osiris 
and  the  gods  who  had  brought  about  his  resurrection  (i.e.,  Thoth, 
the  "  lord  of  divine  words,  the  scribe  of  the  gods,"  and  Isis,  who 
made  use  of  the  words  with  which  Thoth  supplied  her,  and  Horus 
and  his  companion  gods  who  performed  the  symbolic  ceremonies 
which  were  effectual  in  producing  the  reconstitution  of  the  body 
of  Osiris  and  its  revivification)  to  act  on  their  behalf  even  as  they 
had  acted  for  the  god.  The  species  of  the  amulets  used  were 
constant,  and  they  appear  to  have  been  sixteen  in  number,  viz., 
four  figures  of  the  children  of  Horus  each  with  his  characteristic 
head,  four  lapis-lazuli  Tet  pillars,  two  bulls,  a  figure  of  Horus,  a 
figure  of  Thoth,  two  carnelian  Tet  pillars,  and  two  lapis-lazuli 
utchats,  ^^  jrp[p . 

According  to  Plutarch  the  number  of  portions  into  which  Set 
tore  the  body  of  Osiris  was  fourteen,  but  the  hieroglyphic  texts 
give    at   times   fourteen    and    at   others    sixteen ;    the    cities   and 


SHRINES    OF    OSIRIS  127 

sanctuaries  wherein  these  were  buried  are  :— 1.  Ament  in  Koptos. 
2.  Aa-fib  in  Elephantine.  3.  An-rut-f  in  Herakleopolis  Magna. 
4.  Kusae.  5.  Heliopolis.  6.  At- Ament  in  Sma-behutet  (Diospolis 
of  Lower  Egypt).  7.  Letopolis.  8.  Pa-Thuhen  in  Sa'is.  9.  Meh- 
ta-f  in  Hermopolis  of  Lower  Egypt.  10.  Athribis.  11.  Aq 
(Schedia).  12.  Ab,  in  the  Libyan  Nome.  13.  Het-sera  in  the  city 
of  Netert.  14.  Apis.1  In  the  late  period  of  Egyptian  history,  i.e., 
in  Graeco-Roman  times,  the  sanctuaries  of  Osiris  were  forty-two  in 
number ;  in  other  words,  each  nome  possessed  its  central  shrine  of 
Osiris,  which  was  called  a  "  Serapeum,"  or  the  place  where  Serapis 
was  worshipped,  but  this  happened  because  Osiris  Khent  Amenti 
was  identified  with  Serapis,  who  was  not  the  god  Osiris  himself, 
but  only  a  dead  Apis  bull  which  had  become  an  Osiris.  It  has 
already  been  said  that  in  some  lists  the  sanctuaries  of  Osiris  are 
stated  to  be  sixteen  in  number,  but  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  the 
true  number  is  fourteen,  because  in  the  inscriptions  at  Dendera 
which  refer  to  the  "  mysteries  "  of  Osiris,  the  statue  of  Seker-Osiris, 
which  played  such  a  prominent  part  in  the  ceremonies  performed 
there,  was  made  up  of  fourteen  pieces,2  although  sixteen  pieces  are 
sometimes  enumerated.3      The  sixteen  members  of  the   body    of 

Osiris  are  : — his  head,  ®,  the  soles  of  his  feet,  yjft),  his  bones,  £  c     ,, 

his   arms,  a,   his   heart,    ^  0 ,    his  interior,    *  O,  his   tongue. 

^K,  his  eye,  ^,  his  fist,  *i-^,  his  finSers>   )))>  his  back, 
X,  his  ears,  <§-^§>,  his  loins,  1^  ^  X  ^>  nis  Dody>  2"!  ^' 


D 


1  See  Brugsch,  A&j.  Zeitschrift,  1881,  p.  79  ff.     Another  list  of  the   sixteen 
sanctuaries   is   given    by  M.  Loret   in   Becueil,   torn,  v.,    p.    85,    where   they   are 

enumerated    in    the    following    order : — Tettu,    1  ^  ,    Abydos, 


(£>     &  "  Y\  f^^l 


Memphis,   q  E  Y  ^L ,  Nubia,  X  ,   Herakleopolis,    f  Q      ^,  ,   Kusae, 

Atef -khent,  ^  ^=—    _  V,,^,  ,   Sa'is,  Txf  *~^~,  Mehtefc,  ^'  Amu'  &  I 


Sma-Behutet,     T  ^,     Re-aqiu,  I  j  -y^y,    Hen,    <^>^^,    Netrat, 

1  JL>  {  ©,'  B^et'  f"  @ '  Ka"qem'  ^^  ^BHE'  Dendera>  4ar*  S£- 
-  They  are  enumerated  by  Brugsch,  Aeg.  ZeiL,  1881,  p.  90  ff. 
8  Recueil,  torn,  hi.,  p.  56;   torn.  iv\,  p.  23. 


128  OSIRIS    THE    MAN-GOD 


his  head  with  the  face  of  a  ram,  ®  ^=—  *"ww  <£>  q  U  ^>  22. ,  and 

his  hair,  <=>  o  -1 

All  the  evidence  on  the  subject  now  available  goes  to  prove, 
as  the  paragraphs  above  show,  that  the  early  Egyptians  believed 
that  Osiris  was  a  man-god  who  was  murdered  and  whose  body  was 
mutilated,  and  that  the  various  members  of  his  body  were  recon- 
stituted ;  and  we  know  from  a  very  interesting  text  at  Dendera2 
that  during  the  month  of  Khoiak  a  number  of  festivals  were 
celebrated  at  all  the  chief  sanctuaries  of  Osiris  in  Egypt,  and  that 
elaborate  ceremonies  were  performed  in  them  in  commemoration 
of  every  event  which  took  place  in  the  life,  death,  and  resurrection 
of  the  god.  In  this  text  the  uses  of  the  various  sanctuaries  are 
described,  and  detailed  instructions  are  given  for  the  making  of  the 
funeral  chest,  and  of  the  model  of  the  god  which  was  to  be  buried 
in  the  coffin,  and  of  the  incense,  and  of  the  amulets,  and  of  the 
fourteen  divine  members,  and  of  all  the  materials,  etc.,  which  were 
employed  in  the  ceremonies.  On  the  xiith  day  of  Khoiak  the 
Festival  of  the   Ploughing  of  the  Earth  and  the  Festival  of  the 

TenA,  (j ,  were  celebrated;    on   the   xivth   day  the  great 

1  The  hieroglyphic  texts  tell  us  that  the  head  of   Osiris  was  buried  in  the 
sanctuary  of  Arq-heh,   <c=r>       «     Mr   l  © ,  in  Abydos ;  his  left  eye  was  buried  in 

Het-Maakheru,  [)  I  ,  in  Lower  Egypt ;  his  eyebrows  were  buried  in  Am,  ^~ 
(PeVusium) ;  his  jaw-bones  Avere  buried  at  Faket  in  Upper  Egypt ;  certain  portions 
of  his  head  were  buried  at  Heb-kert,  V&y  u^  ^ ,  ha  the  Delta  ;  his  neck  was 
buried  in  the  Delta ;  an  arm  and  his  right  leg  were  buried  at  Aterui  qema, 
WW  ^W^  '  *^s  left  leo  was  buried  at  Mehet,  CxSPf  ^  ;  a  bone  of  his  back  (os 

coccyx)  was  buried  at  Heliopolis,  and  his  thighs  at  Het-her-ateb,    J  i i  (I    0       ', 

a   foot    was    buried    at    Netert,  \  ^ ,   and   his   heart   at    Usekht-Maati, 

ijjpji  I)      M  J 4  J]  ;     his   phallus   was    buried   at    Het-Bennu,     J  ^     ^^  ^ , 

and  a  portion  of  his  backbone  at  Pa-paut-neteru,  ^  |  .     Various  other 

parts  of  his  body  were  buried  at  different  places,  and  in  the  case  of  a  few  members 
the  honour  of  possessing  them  was  claimed  by  more  than  one  city. 

2  See  Brugsch,  Becueil,  i.,  15,   16  ;    Diimichen,  Besidtats,  iv.   1-27  ;  Mariette, 
Denderah,  torn,  iv.,  pll.  35-39. 

r 


SETTING    UP   TET  129 

Festival  of  Pert;  on  the  xvith  day  the  Festival  of  Osiris  Khent 
Amenti ;  on  the  xxivth  day  the  model  of  the  god  of  the  preceding- 
year  was  taken  out  from  its  place  and  buried  suitably,  and  the  new 
Osiris  was  embalmed  in  the  sanctuary  ;  on  the  last  day  of  the  month 

the  Tet,  u,  was  set  up  in  Tettu,  because  on  this  day  the  divine 
members  of  Osiris,  |  9>R.^>  were  brought.  The  new  Osiris  remained 
without  burial  for  seven  days  because  of  the  tradition  which 
declared  that  the  god  had  remained  for  seven  days  in  the  womb  of 
his  mother  Nut  when  she  was  with  child. 

In  connexion  with  the  ceremonies  in  the  great  sanctuaries, 
e.g.,  Dendera,  thirty-four  papyrus  boats  were  employed,  and  these 
were  lit  up  with  365  lights,  or  lamps,  ]  U  "^  Q,  ^^n  II " 
The  gods  of  Mendes,  with  Anubis,  occupied  one  boat,  and  Isis, 
Nephthys,  Horus,  and  Thoth,  each  had  a  boat ;  the  remaining 
twenty-nine  boats  were  dedicated  to  the  following  gods  :  — Mestha, 

Hapi,  Tuamutef,  Qebh-sennuf,  Sah-heq,  |^T,  Armauai, 
£=  -f)  M  1 ,  Maa-tef-f,  <2>"  Jp  *JL  *^_  1 ,  Ar-ren-f-tchesef, 
^"  *—-  -^j  1 ,  Am-Tet,  JJ-  ^  ^ ,  Nefer-hat,  I  *^  ^ ,  Ast-sen- 

ARI-TCHER,      jj^jQIU^S^^^,     SeM,     ^  J\  ^  ,     HeR-A-F,     ^ 

J ,  Sent,  „  ^  ^>  ^ ,  Ari-maat-f-tchesef,  ySj  ^"  -ZT1)  "j , 
Sebakhsen,  fl  ^  "  0  '  1,  Heqes,  8  a  n  f^  1 ,  Neter-bah,  p|  'c=S)  1 , 
Qetet,    ^  q  ^  ^ ,    Khenti-heh-f,       f  ^  Q,  *^  1 '     ^-Q"?er-Am- 

UNNUT-F,  T  lr^%0     1     '      NeTCHEH-NeTCHEH,         C^    "SI, 

Asbu,  \\  n  J  %>  1 ,  Per-em-khet-khet,  ^=S  /=  J"^^"^  1 ,  Erta- 
nef-nebt,     <=>  V  J  ^  [ 1     I ,  Tesher-maati,  □§  -<2>-    i ,  KnENT- 

het-Anes,  fQH^pSl,   Maa-em-qeeh,    ^y^^Q"\ 

An-f-em-hru-seksek,    j\  p  i —  <=>  — »—  ^fe?  — h—  X .      The  above 

facts  prove  that  in  the  Ptolemaic  period  the  views  which  were  held 
generally  about  Osiris  were  substantially  the  same  as  those  which 
were    in   vogue    in    the    times    when    the    Pyramid    Texts    were 


II — K 


130  FORMS    OF   OSIRIS 

composed,  and  it  is  clear  that  the  cult  of  Osiris  was  widespread 
even  in  the  Vth  Dynasty,  or  about  B.C.  3500. 

From  the  Pyramid  Texts  we  learn  that  the  dead  kings  were 
already  identified  with  Osiris,  and  that  Osiris  was  identified  with 
the  dead  Sun-god,  but  we  have  no  means  of  knowing  when  he  was 
merged  in  Seker,  the  god  of  the  Memphite  Underworld.  The 
Heliopolitan  priests  declared  that  he  was  the  son  of  Seb  and  Nut, 
but  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  they  did  not  preserve  for  us  the 
genealogy  of  the  god  according  to  the  priests  of  the  predynastic 
period.  The  festivals  which  were  celebrated  in  the  month  of 
Khoiak  were,  no  doubt,  founded  upon  very  ancient  tradition,  but 
the  elaboration  of  detail  given  in  the  text  at  Dendera,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  does  not  suggest  a  primitive 
antiquity,  although  it  shows  how  deeply  seated  was  the  cult  of 
Osiris  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The  numerous  aspects  under 
which  the  god  was  worshipped  also  show  that  some  of  the  original 
conceptions  of  the  attributes  of  the  god  were  forgotten  in  compara- 
tively early  days,  both  by  foreigners  and  Egyptians,  and  it  is  this 
fact  which  explains  how  he  came  to  be  identified  with  the  Greek 
god  Dionysos.  The  aspects  of  Osiris  were  nearly  as  numerous  as 
those  of  Ra,  hence  we  find  him  identified  with  the  sun  and  moon, 
and  with  the  great  creative  and  regenerative  powers  of  Nature, 
and  he  was  at  once  the  symbol  of  rejuvenescence,  resurrection,  and 
of  life  of  every  sort  and  kind  which  has  the  power  of  renewing 
itself. 

We  must  now  consider  the  various  forms  in  which  Osiris  is 
represented  on  the  monuments,  and  in  papyri,  etc.  The  common 
form  of  the  god  is  that  of  a  mummy,  who  wears  a  beard,  and  has 

the  White  Crown,  /),  on  his  head,  and  a  mendt,  (w  ,  hanging  from 

the  back  of  his  neck.  In  a  scene  reproduced  by  Lanzone1  he 
appears  in   a  group  with  the    Hawk-god   Seker,  the   Beetle-god 

Kheprer,  and  the  goddess  Shent,  aaKaa,  and  has  two  forms,  i.e., 

Osiris,  lord  of  Khut,  and  Khent  Amenti,    r  -<s>-  ^37  '^^    °  ,  and 

flm  ^    >^>  f '     ^n  ano^ner  scene2  he  appears  in  the  form  of  the  Tet 

1  Dizionario,  plate  15.  -Ibid.,  pi.  17. 


iii  111 111 111  ii     tii  nun  in  in  nun  in  iiiiii  nrm 


S 


osiris    wearing  the  white  crown  and  menat  ano    holding  the  sceptre, 

Crook,    and    Flail.     Before    him    are    the    Four    Children    of   Horus,    and 

behind   him   is  his  wlfe   isis. 


FORMS    OF   OSIRIS  131 

pillar,  and  is  called  "  Osiris  Tet,"  and  stands  at  the  head  of  a  bier, 
on  which  lies  the  god  Seker  in  mummied  form.  On  a  stele  at 
Turin1  Osiris  appears  in  mummied  form,  seated,  and  holding  in  his 

hands  the  sceptre  f  ,  and  the  flail  or  whip  £\ ;  on  his  head  is  the 
White  Crown  with  plumes,  to  which  the  name  Atef  is  usually- 
given.  His  titles  are  "  Osiris  Khenti-Amentet,  Un-nefer,  lord  of 
Tatcheser,  the  great  god,  king  of  the  living."  Behind  him  are 
seated  Ptah-Sekri,  ^  §  ^^  ^  w)  >  "  ^or<^  °f  the  bidden  chest," 
Anpu,  "dweller  in  the  city  of  embalmment,"  Horus,  son  of  Isis, 
and  Hathor.  As  a  form  of  Khnemu-Ra  he  has  the  head  of  a  ram, 
the  horns  of  which  are  surmounted  by  a  solar  disk  and  by  four 

knives.3     A  common  symbol  of  the  god  is  A,  i.e.,  the  box  which 

contained  the  head  and  hair  of  Osiris  and  which  was  preserved  at 
Abydos,  where  these  relics  were  buried.  Elsewhere  we  see  the 
body  of  the  god  bent  round  backwards  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  the 
region  of  the  Tuat  or  Underworld  (see  vol.  i.,  p.  229).  Sometimes 
the  god  is  seated  on  a  throne,  which  is  supported  on  the  back  of  a 
monster  serpent  that  rests  on  the  top  of  the  mythological  flight  of 
steps,  /\,  at  Henen-Su ;  he  is  accompanied  by  Maat,  Horus,  son 
of  Isis,  Thoth,  Heka,  ^=^  jj ,  who  holds  a  serpent  in  each  hand, 
and  the  snake-headed  goddess  Heptet,  8  .  The  exact  part 
which  this  last-named  deity  played  in  connexion  with  Osiris  is 
unknown,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  was  of  considerable  importance, 
and  that  the  goddess  assisted  in  bringing  about  his  resurrection. 
Heptet  has  the  body  of  a  woman  with  the  head  of  a  bearded 
snake ;  on  her  head  is  a  pair  of  horns  which  are  surmounted  by  a 
solar  disk,  and  Atef  Crown,  and  uraei  with  disks  and  horns,  r>. 
In  each  hand  she  holds  a  knife.3 

On  the  walls  of  the  temple  of  Dendera 4  is  preserved  a  very 
interesting  group  of  scenes  connected  with  the  story  of  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  the  god,  which  may  be  briefly  described  thus  : — 

1.  Osiris  lying  on  his  stomach  on  his  bier,  beneath  which  are 
his  four  crowns ;  he  is  called,  "  Osiris,  beloved  of  his  father,  the 

1  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  96.  2  Ibid.,  pi.  143.  :!  Ibid.,  pi.  211. 

4  See  Mariette,  Deader  ah,  torn,  iv.,  pi.  6515.,  Paris,  1S73. 


FUNERAL   OF   OSIRIS 


king  of  the  gods,  the  lord  of  life,  Osiris."     In  front  of  Osiris  is 
Horus  who  presents  to  him  a  lotus  flower. 


No.  1. 


2.  Osiris    lying    on   his    funeral   bier ;     at   the   head   stands 

1 


No.  2. 


Nephthys,  and  at  the  foot  Isis. 


No.  3. 


3.  Osiris,  ithyphal- 
lic,  and  wearing  the 
Atef  Crown,  lying  on 
his  bier.  On  the  head 
of  the  bier  is  a  hawk 
with  outstretched  wings, 
and  behind  it  stands 
Isis ;  on  the  foot  is  a 
similar  hawk,  and  be- 
hind   it    stands    Horus, 


FUNERAL   OF   OSIRIS 


loo 


son  of  Isis.     Above  is  the  soul  of  Osiris.     Below  the  bier  are  two 
crowns,  a  tunic,  and  a  cap. 

4.  Osiris,  naked  and  beardless,  lying  on  his  bier,  at  the  head 
of  which  is  a  statue  of  Isis,  and  at  the  foot  a  statue  of  Nephthys. 

5.  Osiris,  naked  and  beardless,  lying  on  his  bier,  at  the  head 
of  which  stands  Isis  who  is  addressing  the  god ;  beneath  the  bier  are 
figures  of  the  four  children  of  Horus,  Mestha,  Hapi,  Tuamutef,  and 
Qebhsennuf,  who,  besides  representing  the  gods  of  the  four  cardinal 
points,  may  here  be  considered  as  personifications  of  the  four  large, 
internal  organs  of  the  body. 

6.  Osiris,  naked,  lying  upon 
his  bier,  over  the  foot  of  which 
is  the  vulture  goddess  Uatchet, 
and  over  the  head  the  uraeus 
goddess  Nekhebet. 

7.  Osiris,  in  mummied  form, 
lying  on  his  bier  beneath  a  funeral 
chest,  over  which  a  hawk  stretches  out  its  wings. 

8.  Osiris,  j  ^g  ^ ,  of  Behutet  (Edfu)  lying  on  his  bier,  with 


No.  6. 


Xo.  8. 

Nephthys  at  his  head  and  Isis  at  his  feet. 

9.  Osiris  of  Ta-khent  lying  on  his  bier,  with  a  Hawk-goddess 
at  the  head  and  a  Vulture-goddess  at  the  foot. 

10.  Osiris  of  Hap,  ^^1©?  wearing  the  Atef  Crown,  lying- 
face  downwards  on  his  bier,  beneath  which  are  a  number  of 
crowns  and  caps  of  the  god. 


134 


FUNERAL   OF   OSIRIS 


S»    © 


11.  Osiris  lying  on  his  bier  in  the  Meskhen  chamber  with  the 
four  funeral  vases  beneath. 

12.  Osiris,  ithyphallic,  mummied,  and  beardless,  lying  on  his 
bier ;  he  is  watched  over  by  three  hawks,  and  by  Isis,  who  stands 

at  the  head,  and  by  a 
frog  -  headed  form  of 
the  god  Horus.  Be- 
neath the  bier  are  the 
ape-headed  god  Aurt, 

4  _a  <  1 '  anc*  two 
snake-goddesses,  one  of 

No- 12-  which    is  called   Her- 

tept,     x     ^  ^)  Pn  '  anc^  an  ibis-headed  god. 

13.  Seker-Osiris  of 
Mendes,  beardless,  lying  up- 
on a  bier,  with  Anubis  in  .at- 
tendance, holding  in  his 
hands  a  vase  of  unguent, 
and  an  instrument  used  in 
embalming. 

14.  Seker-Osiris  of 
Mendes,  in  the  form  of  a  hawk-headed  mummy,  lying  upon  his 

bier,  beneath  which  grow 
three  small  trees. 

15.  Seker-Osiris, 
naked,  and   bearded,   and 
wearing  the  Atef  Crown, 
lying  upon   his    bier,   be- 
neath  which    grow   three 
trees. 
16.  Ptah-Seker-Asar   of  Memphis,    in    mummied   form   and 
bearded,  lying  upon  his  bier,  at  the  head  of  which,  on  a  pedestal, 
stands  a  figure  of  Isis.     The  bier  is  placed  within  a  funeral  chest, 
the  pillars  of  which  are  in  the  form  of  Tet,  u .     On  the  right  is 

"  Asar  Tet,  the  holy  one  in  Tettu,    rj'S   7    □         M  m  >"  m  ^ne  form 
of  a  Tet  pillar,  which  is  provided  with  human  hands  and  arms  ; 


No.  13. 


No.  14. 


FUNERAL    OF   OSIRIS 


135 


No.  16. 


above  it  appear  the  head  of  Osiris  and  the  sceptre  and  flail,  or 
whip. 


Osiris  on  his  bier  ;  beneath  are  the  Canopic  jars. 


The  mummy  of  Osiris  on  its  bier  with  the  hawk  of  Horus  above  ;   at  the  head  is  NephthyS, 

and  at  the  foot  Isis. 

17.  Osiris,  beardless,  and  wearing  the  White  Crown  and 
plumes,  in  the  act  of  raising  himself  from  his  bier  at  the  command 
of  Heru-netch-tef-f. 


136 


FUNERAL   OF   OSIRIS 


No.  17. 


No.  18. 


18.  Osiris  Un-nefer,  in  mummied  form,  lying  on  his  bier,  at 
the  head  of  which  grows  the  Persea  tree,  Ashet  (1         A ;  above  the 

upper  branches  stands  a  soul  in  the  form  of  a  man-headed  hawk. 

19.  Osiris,  bearded,  lying  on  his  bier,  which  rests  within  an 
elaborately  ornamented  funeral  chest ;  beneath  the  bier  are  a 
number  of  helmets,  caps,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  god.  Through  one 
end  of  the  chest  Heru-netch-tef-f  thrusts  his  lance,  and  touches  the 
face  of  Osiris  with  it,  with  the  view,  presumably,  of  effecting  the 
"  opening  of  the  mouth." 


Ceremonial  scene  connected  with  the  resurrection  of  Osiris. 

20.  Osiris,  ithyphallic  and  bearded,  in  mummied  form,  lying 
upon  his  bier ;  over  his  feet  and  his  body  hover  two  hawks.  At 
the  head  kneels  Hathor,  "  Mistress  of  Amentet,  who  weepeth  for 
"her  brother,"  and  at  the  foot  is  a  frog,  symbol  of  the  goddess 
Heqet,  (  £>  J);  beneath  the  bier  are  an  ibis-headed  god  holding 
the  TJtchat,  two  serpents,  and  the  god  Bes.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  the  frog-headed  goddess  Heqet,  who  was  a  form  of 


PTAH-SEKER-AUSAR,  the  Triune  God  of  the  Resurrection 


FUNERAL   OF   OSIRIS 


137 


Hathor,    was    connected    by   the    Christians   with    the    Christian 
Resurrection  ;  in  proof  of  this  may  be  cited  the  lamp  described  by 


No.  20. 


Signor  Lanzone,1  whereon,  he  tells  us,  is  a  figure  of  a  frog,  and 
the  legend  3Eyoj  elfxt  '^^ao-rctcri?,  "  I  am  the  resurrection." 

21.  Osiris,  bearded,  ithyphallic,  in  mummied  form,  and 
wearing  the  White  Crown,  lying  on  his  bier,  by  the  side  of  which 
stand    Anubis,   jackal-headed,  and    Heqet,    frog-headed.     At   the 


Anubis  addressing'  Osiris  on  his  bier. 


head  stands  H  eru-netch-tef-f  in  the  form  of  a  hawk,  and  Nephthys 
kneels  ;  at  the  foot  kneels  Isis. 

22.  Osiris,  bearded,  wearing  the  White  Crown  with  plumes, 


No.  22. 
1  Dizionario,  p.  853. 


138 


RESURRECTION    OF   OSIRIS 


and  holding  in  his  hands  the  sceptre  and  flail,  or  whip,  raising 
himself  up  on  his  knees  from  his  bier,  which  is  enclosed  within 
the  funeral  chest.  Beneath  the  bier  are  most  of  the  crowns  of 
the  god.     Beside  it  stands  Isis. 

23.  Osiris  rising  up  out  of  a  basket  (?),  which  rests  upon  a 
pedestal ;  behind  him  stands  Isis  with  her  wings  stretched  out  on 
both  sides  of  him,  and  before  him  is  a  bearded  god  who  presents 
to  him  "  life."     On  the  right  is  a  second  scene  in  which  the  god  is 

seen  kneeling  within  the  boat  of  the  double  Tet,      u  ,  wherein  are 


No.  23. 


a  papyrus  plant  and  a  lotus  plant,  the  emblems  of  the  South  and 
North  respectively.  The  boat  rests  upon  a  sledge,  the  supports 
of  which  are  made  in  the  form  of  inverted  lotus  flowers,  which  are 
well  known  types  of  the  dawn  and  of  renewed  life.  The  title  of  the 
god  here  is  "  Osiris  Seker,  lord  of  the  funeral  chest  [at]  Abydos," 
-'5a  z^l  1$  ^^  r^rn  i  pi  i  -JQ     Q  ° 

The   two    commonest   titles  of   Osiris   are  "  Khent-Amenti," 

li^.  and  "Un-Ne™,"  Hi^J,  or  (Zl^Il  -1 
as  such  he  holds  in  his  hands  one  or  two  sceptres  and  the  whip,  or 
flail,    j,  |,  J\,   and    wears   the    White    Crown.       Sometimes   he 

appears  as  a  man,  with  a  large  mouth  and  eyes  and  nose,  and  with 
a  Tet  surmounted  by  a  disk,  plumes,  horns,  uraei,  etc.,  issuing 
from  his  head.1  He  once  appears  in  the  form  of  Ptah  pouring 
out 2  water  from  a  libation  vase  for  a  deceased  person  who  kneels 
before  him,  and  once  he  appears  with  the  head  of  the  Bennu.3     In 

1  Lanzone,  Dizionario,  pi.  293.  2  Ibid.,  pi.  294.  3  Rid.,  pi.  295. 


Ml  Ml  Ml  Mr  vr  w  w  \u  w  \u  w  \u  w  \u  m 


®®®®®®®®<§>®®®®®® 
/av  ja\  /av  jms.  /av  /av  /av  /a\  /av  /a\  /a\  /av  /AV  /av  /A\ 


King    SETI    I.    Addressing    OSIRIS    Khent-Amentet. 


RESURRECTION   OF   OSIRIS  139 

some  scenes  Osiris  appears  as  a  god  of  vegetation,  and  in  one 
instance  the  god  is  represented  in  mummied  form,  and  wearing  the 
xVtef  Crown,  and  from  his  body  a  row  of  plants  is  seen  growing ; 
in  another  he  is  represented  by  a  small  mound  of  earth,  which  is 
called  "  Osiris,"    \\%  and  from  which  four  trees  grow.     Above  the 

mound  is  a  large  serpent  with  the  White  Crown  upon  its  head,  and 
two  small  serpents  growing  out  from  its  body  ;  on  the  right  are:  — 
1.  A   ram-headed   god,    holding   a   serpent,    and    2.  the    serpent 

Khebkheb,  ®  J  ®  J  Hlft ;  on  the  left  are  a  ram-headed  god 
holding  a  serpent,  and  a  feather.  The  Osiris  ceremonies  varied  in 
different  places,  according  as  the  god  was  identified  with  local 
gods,  but  in  all  great  religious  centres  Osiris,  under  one  name  or 
another,  possessed  his  own  sanctuary.  Thus,  as  Dr.  Brugsch  has 
pointed  out,1  in  Northern  Nubia  Osiris  was  known  as  Khnemu,  in 
Apollinopolis  and  Denclera  as  An,  in  Thebes  as  Khnemu-ut-em- 
ankh,  in  Coptos  as  Amsu-Heru-ka-nekht,  in  Diospolis  Parva  as 
Sekhem,  in  Lycopolis  as  Sekhem-taui,  in  Antaeopolis  as  Maui, 
in  Cusae  as  Urt-ab,  in  Memphis  as  Seker,  in  Cynopolis  and 
Oxyrhynchus  as  Anubis,  in  Herakleopolis  as  Ka-hetep  and  Heru- 
shefi,  in  the  Libyan  Nome  as  Khent-Amenti,  in  Heroopolis  as 
Ankh  and  Tern,  in  Busiris  as  Tet  or  Tettu,  in  Heliopolis  as  Ser-aa, 
and  in  other  places  in  the  Delta  as  Fentet-ankh,  Heru-ap-shata. 
In  the  cxlist  and  cxliind  Chapters  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  we 
have  a  complete  list  of  the  forms  and  shrines  of  Osiris,  and  as  they 
are  of  great  importance  for  forming  a  right  idea  of  the  universality 
of  the  cult  of  Osiris  in  Egypt,  it  will  be  found,  in  two  versions,  at 
the  end  of  this  section  on  the  great  gods  of  Heliopolis. 

We  have  now  traced  the  history  of  Osiris  from  the  time  when 
he  was  a  river  or  water  god,  and  of  only  quite  local  importance,  up 
to  the  period  when  his  worship  reached  from  the  north  of  the  Delta 
to  the  Nubian  Nome  at  Elephantine,  and  he  had  become  in  every 
sense  of  the  word  the  national  god  of  Egypt.  We  have  now  to 
consider  Osiris  in  his  character  of  god  and  judge  of  the  dead,  and 
as  the  symbol  of  the  resurrection,  and  the  best  source  upon  which 

1  Religion,  p.  018. 


140  OSIRIS,  JUDGE    OF   THE   DEAD 

we  can  draw  for  information  on  this  subject  is  the  Booh  of  the 
Dead.  In  this  work  Osiris  is  held  to  be  the  greatest  of  the  gods, 
and  it  is  he  who  is  the  judge  of  men  after  death,  and  he  is  the 
arbiter  of  their  future  destiny.  He  attained  this  exalted  position 
because  he  was  believed  to  have  been  once  a  human  being  who 
had  died  and  had  been  dismembered  ;  but  his  limbs  had  been 
reconstituted  and  he  had  become  immortal.  The  most  remarkable 
thing  about  him  was  that  his  body  had  never  decayed  like  the 
bodies  of  ordinary  men,  and  neither  putrefaction  nor  worms  ever 
acquired  power  over  it,  or  caused  it  to  diminish  in  the  least  degree. 
It  is  true  that  it  was  embalmed  by  Horus,  and  Anubis,  and  Isis, 
who  carried  out  with  the  greatest  care  and  exactitude  all  the 
prescriptions  which  had  been  ordered  by  Thoth,  and  who  performed 
their  work  so  thoroughly  well  that  the  material  body  which  Osiris 
possessed  on  this  earth  served  as  the  body  for  the  god  in  the  world 
beyond  the  grave,  though  only  after  it  had  undergone  some 
mysterious  change,  which  was  brought  about  by  the  words  of 
power  which  these  gods  said  and  by  the  ceremonies  which  they 
performed.  A  very  ancient  tradition  declared  that  the  god  Thoth 
himself  had  acted  the  part  of  priest  for  Osiris,  and  although  the 
Egyptians  believed  that  it  was  his  words  which  brought  the  dead 
god  back  to  life,  they  were  never  able  wholly  to  free  themselves 
from  the  idea  that  the  series  of  magical  ceremonies  which  they 
performed  in  connexion  with  the  embalmment  and  burial  of  the 
dead  produced  most  beneficial  results  for  their  deceased  friends. 

The  compositions  which  form  the  chapters  of  the  Booh  of  the 
Dead  are  declared  to  have  been  written  by  Thoth,  and  they  were 
assumed  to  be  identical  with  those  which  this  god  pronounced  on 
behalf  of  Osiris ;  the  ceremonies  which  were  performed  by  the 
priests  at  the  recital  of  such  compositions  were  held  to  be  identical 
with  those  Avhich  Horus  and  Anubis  performed  for  the  "  lord  of 
life,"  and  if  the  words  were  said  by  duly  appointed  and  properly 
qualified  priests,  in  a  suitable  tone  of  voice,  whilst  the  ministrants 
and  libationers  performed  the  sacred  ceremonies  according  to  the 
Rubrics,  it  was  held  to  be  impossible  for  Osiris  to  refuse  to  grant 
the  deceased  eternal  life,  and  to  admit  him  into  his  kingdom.  It  may 
be  argued  that  the  words  and  the  ceremonies  were  the  all-important 


OSIRIS,  JUDGE   OF   THE   DEAD  141 

factors  of  the  resurrection  of  man  and  of  his  eternal  life,  but  this 
was  not  the  case,  for  the  Egyptians  only  regarded  them  as  means 
to  be  used  with  care  and  diligence;  it  was  Osiris,  the  god-man 
himself,  who  had  risen  from  the  dead  and  was  living  in  a  body 
perfect  in  all  its  members,  who  was  the  cause  of  the  resurrection. 
Osiris  could  give  life  after  death  because  he  had  attained  to  it, 
and  he  could  give  eternal  life  to  the  souls  of  men  in  their 
transformed  bodies  because  he  had  made  himself  incorruptible  and 
immortal.  Moreover,  he  was  himself  "  Eternity  and  Everlasting- 
ness,"  and  it  was  he  who   "made   men  and  women  to  be  born 

again,"  f|  P  ^  ^  ^»  $  $  |  ^  J  ^;  the  new  birth  was  the 
birth  into  the  new  life  of  the  world  which  is  beyond  the  grave  and 
is  everlasting.  Osiris  could  give  life  because  he  was  life,  he  could 
make  man  to  rise  from  the  dead  because  he  was  the  resurrection  • 
but  the  priesthood  taught  in  all  periods  of  Egyptian  history  that  it 
was  necessary  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the  favour  of  the  o-od  by 
means  of  magical  and  religious  words  and  ceremonies.  From  the 
earliest  times  the  belief  in  the  immortality  of  Osiris  existed,  and 
the  existence  of  the  dead  after  death  was  bound  up  with  that  of 
the  god.  Thus  in  the  text  of  Unas  (line  240)  it  is  said  of  the 
king  to  Tern,  "  0  Tern,  this  is  thy  son  Osiris.  Thou  hast  given 
"  him  his  sustenance  and  he  liveth  ;  he  liveth  and  Unas  liveth  ;  he 
"  dieth  not,  and  this  Unas  dieth  not ;  he  is  not  destroyed,  and  this 
"  Unas  shall  not  be  destroyed  ;  if  he  begetteth  not  this  Unas  shall 
"not  beget;  if  he  begetteth  this  Unas  shall  beget."  In  a  text 
nearly  two  thousand  years  later  the  deceased  Ani  is  made  to  ask 
Tern,  the  head  of  the  company  of  the  gods  of  Heliopolis,  "  How 
"long  have  I  to  live?"  and  he  replies,  "Thou  shalt  exist  for 
"  millions  of  millions  of  years,  a  period  of  millions  of  years  "  ; *  now 
Tern  was  identified  with  Ra,  and  Ra,  at  the  time  when  this  text  was 
written,  was  held  to  be  the  father  of  Osiris,  and  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  the  question  of  the  scribe  Ani  was  addressed  to  Osiris. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  the  great  source  of  information 

J  H  0 


1 H  _#  ^^  <c==>  2T  i !  AAAAAA  K  i !  X  ©   i /wwv'  I©   i '  Chaiifcer  clxxv- of 

the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Ani,  pi.  19,  1.  16). 


142  OSIRIS,  JUDGE   OF   THE   DEAD 

about  Osiris  and  his  cult  is  contained  in  the  Book  of  the  Bead, 
which  may  be  termed  the  Gospel  of  Osiris,  wherein  the  god  is 
made  to  point  out  to  man  the  necessity  for  leading  a  pure  and 
good  life  upon  earth,  and  to  instruct  him  in  the  words  and  deeds 
which  will  enable  him  to  attain  eternal  life,  and  we  must  now 
briefly  describe  the  relations  which  were  believed  to  exist  between 
this  god  of  truth  and  life  and  the  deceased.  In  the  accompanying 
plate,  which  contains  the  famous  "  Judgment  Scene  "  of  the  Booh 
of  the  Bead,  as  contained  in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani  in  the  British 
Museum,  we  have  a  representation  of  Osiris  in  his  capacity  as  the 
Judge  of  the  dead,  and  a  description  of  it  will  explain  the  views 
of  the  ancient  Egyptians  on  the  judgment  of  the  souls  of  the  dead. 
From  certain  passages  and  allusions  in  the  Pyramid  Texts  it  is 
clear  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  believed  that  the  souls  of  the 
dead,  and  perhaps  also  their  bodies,  were  judged,  and  the  place 
of  their  judgment  seems  to  have  been  situated  in  the  sky ;  no 
details  of  the  manner  in  which  it  was  performed  are  given,  but  it 
seems  as  if  the  judgment  consisted  in  the  "  weighing  of  words," 

%s>  piq    ft  f\    <r-=^  v\,  utcha  metn,  that  is  to  say,  the  weighing  of 

actions,  for  the  word  metu  means  "  deed,  action,"  as  much  as 
"  word  "  (like  the  Hebrew  ddbhdr,  "Q"j).  The  "  weighing  of  words" 
(or  actions)  was  carried  out  by  means  of  a  pair  of  scales,  Makhaat, 
^\ a  T  (]  ^  Y|  rtl,  which  were  presided  over  by  Thoth,  who  from 

very    remote   days    was    known    as    Ap-rehui,    \/  <=^>  |  %  ^ , 

i.e.,  "  Judge  of  the  two  combatant  gods,"  that  is  to  say,  "  Judge  of 

Horus  and   Set,"  and  as  Ap-senui,    yJ^^W,"  Judge  of  the 

Two  Brothers."  Thoth,  however,  only  watched  the  Balance  when 
"  words  "  were  being  tried  in  it  on  behalf  of  Osiris — at  least  this 
was  the  view  in  later  times. 

The  Egyptians,  having  once  conceived  the  existence  of  a 
Balance  in  the  Underworld,  proceeded  to  represent  it  pictorially,  and 
as  a  result  we  have  in  the  vignette  of  the  Judgment  Scene  a  pair 
of  scales  similar  to  those  with  which  they  were  acquainted  in  daily 
life.  They  were  too  logical  to  think  that  words,  or  even  actions, 
could    be    weighed    in    a   material   balance,    and   they   therefore 


The    Goddess    MESKHENET. 


OSIRIS,  JUDGE    OF    THE    DEAD  143 

represented  the  weighing  of  the  material  heart,  from  which  they 
declared  all  thoughts  and  actions  proceeded,  and  sometimes  the 
whole  body  of  the  man  who  is  to  be  judged  was  placed  by  the 
artist  in  one  pan  of  the  Scales.  They  had,  moreover,  in  very 
early  times   arrived  at  the  conception  of  "  right,  truth,  law,  and 

"rectitude,"  all  of  which  they  expressed  by  the  word  madt,     ^  •  , 

^     u 

and  it  was  against  the  emblem  of  Madt,  the  feather,  [),  that  they 
weighed  either  the  heart  or  the  whole  body.  Why  the  feather  was 
chosen  as  the  symbol  of  madt  instead  of  the  usual  object,  / — i,  it  is 
impossible  to  say,  and  this  fact  suggests  that  all  the  views  which 
the  Egyptians  held  about  the  weighing  of  the  heart  have  not  yet 
been  understood.  As  the  Judgment  Scene  stands  it  represents 
a  mixture  of  different  views  and  opinions  which  belong  to  different 
periods,  but  it  seems  impossible  to  doubt  that  at  some  remote  time 
they  believed  in  the  actual  weighing  of  a  portion  of  the  physical 
body  of  a  man  as  a  part  of  the  ceremony  of  judgment.  The 
judgment  of  each  individual  seems  to  have  taken  place  soon  after 
death,  and  annihilation  or  everlasting  life  and  bliss  to  have  been 
decreed  at  once  for  the  souls  of  the  dead ;  there  are  no  sufficient 
grounds  for  assuming  that  the  Egyptians  believed  either  in  a 
general  resurrection  or  in  protracted  punishment.  How  far  they 
thought  that  the  prayers  of  the  living  for  the  dead  were  efficacious 
in  arresting  or  modifying  the  decree  of  doom  cannot  be  said,  but 
very  considerable  importance  was  attached  by  them  to  funeral 
prayers  and  ceremonies  in  all  ages,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
were  the  outcome  of  the  firm  belief  that  they  would  result  in  the 
salvation  and  well-being  of  the  souls  of  the  dead.  The  Judgment 
Scene  as  given  in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani  may  be  thus  described  : — 

The  scribe  Ani  and  his  wife  Thuthu  enter  the  Hall  of  Maati, 
wherein  the  heart,  symbolic  of  the  conscience,  is  to  be  weighed  in 
the  Balance  against  the  feather,  emblematic  of  Right  and  Truth. 
In  the  upper  register  are  the  gods  who  sit  in  judgment,  and  who 
form  the  great  company  of  the  gods  of  Heliopolis,  to  whom  are 
added  Hathor,  Hu,  and  Sa.  On  the  standard  of  the  Balance  sits 
the  dog-headed  ape,  the  companion  of  Thoth,  the  scribe  of  the 
gods  ;  and  the  god  Anubis,  jackal-headed,  examines  the  pointer  to 


144  OSIRIS,  JUDGE   OF   THE   DEAD 

make  certain  that  the  beam  is  exactly  horizontal,  and  that  the 
tongue  of  the  Balance  is  in  its  proper  place.     On  the  left  of  the 

Balance  are  :— 1.  Shai,  BH^.^  jj>  tne  &od  of  luck'  or  destiny  5 
2.  the  Meskhen,  jfi  (1   ®   □  ,  or  rectangular  object  with  a  human 

I  I  I    I        /WW\A 

head  which  rests  upon  a  pylon,  and  is  commonly  thought  to  be 
connected  with  the  place  of  birth ;  3.  Meskhenet,  |  p  ^  %$ , 
the  goddess  of  the  funeral  chamber,  and  Renenet,  ^^  Njf ,  the 
goddess  of  nursing ;  4.  the  soul  of  Ani  in  the  form  of  a  human- 
headed  hawk  standing  upon  a  pylon.  The  lines  of  hieroglyphics 
which  appear  above  the  figures  of  Ani  and  his  wife  contain  a 
version  of  Chapter  xxx.b  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  in  which  the 
deceased  addresses  his  heart,  and  prays  that  the  sovereign  chiefs 
may  not  oppose  his  judgment,  and  that  it  may  not  be  separated 
from  him  in  the  presence  of  the  keeper  of  the  Balance.  The 
sovereign  chiefs  here  referred  to  are  Mestha,  Hapi,  Tuamutef,  and 
Qebhsennuf,  the  children  of  Horus.  After  the  heart  has  been 
weighed,  Thoth,  being  satisfied  with  the  result,  addresses  the  gods, 
saying,  "  The  heart  of  Osiris  Ani  hath  indeed  been  weighed,  and 
"  his  soul  hath  borne  witness  concerning  him  (or  it) ;  it  hath  been 
"  found  true  by  trial  in  the  Great  Balance.  No  evil  hath  been 
"  found  in  him,  he  hath  not  wasted  the  offerings  in  the  temples, 
"he  hath  not  done  harm  by  his  deeds,  and  he  hath  uttered  no 
"  evil  report  whilst  he  was  upon  earth."  In  answer  to  these  words 
the  gods  ratify  the  sentence  of  Thoth,  and  they  declare  that  he  is 
holy  and   righteous,   and  that  he  hath  not  sinned  against  them ; 

therefore  the  monster  Amemet,  a  1\    ^v^,  or  the  "Eater  of 

the  dead,"  who  is  seen  standing  behind  Thoth,  shall  not  prevail 
over  him,  and  they  further  decree  that  he  shall  have  a  homestead 
in  Sekhet-hetepu  for  ever,  and  that  offerings  shall  be  made  to 
him,  and  that  he  shall  have  the  power  to  appear  before  Osiris 
at  will. 

In  the  second  part  of  the  scene  Horus,  the  son  of  Isis,  leads 
Ani  by  the  hand  into  the  presence  of  Osiris,  who  is  enthroned 
within  a  shrine  in  the  form  of  a  funeral  chest.  Osiris  has  upon  his 
head  the  Atef  crown,  and  he  holds  his  usual  emblems  of  authority. 


The  Company  of  the  Gods 


THE     JUDGMENT     SCEN  E A  N I '  S     HEART     BEING     WEIGHED     IN     THE     BALANCE. 


OSIRIS    AS   JUDGE  145 

1'   I'  4\i  from  n*s  nec^  hangs  the  mendt,  (jo^,  i.e.,   the 

amulet  which  was  associated  with  joy  and  pleasure.     The  title  of 

the  god  is  "  Osiris,  lord  of  everlastingness."      Behind  him  stand 

Isis  and  Nephthys  ;  before  him,  standing  on  a  lotus  flower,  are  the 

four  Children  of  Horus,  i.e.,  the  four  gods  of  the  cardinal  points. 

The  first,  Mestha,  has  the  head  of  a  man  ;  the  second,  Hapi,  the 

head  of  an  ape ;  the  third,  Tuamutef,  the  head  of  a  jackal ;  and 

the  fourth,  Qebhsennuf,  the  head  of  a  hawk.     In  some  papyri  the 

lotus  on  which  these  gods  stand  is  seen  to  have  its  roots  in  a  lake, 

or  stream,  of  water,  which  flows  from  under  the  throne  of  Osiris. 

Near  the  lotus  hangs  the  skin  of  the  pied  bull  which  was  sacrificed 

at  the  beginning  of  that  portion  of  the  funeral  ceremony  when  two 

gazelles  and  a  goose  were  also  slain  as  sacrifices.     The  side  of  the 

throne  of  Osiris  is  painted  to  resemble  that  of  a  funeral  chest. 

The  roof  of  the  shrine  is  supported  on  pillars  with  lotus  capitals, 

and  is  surmounted  by  a  figure  of  Horus  Sept  or  Horus  Seker,  and 

by  rows  of  uraei.     The  pedestal  on  which  the  shrine  rests  is  in  the 

form  of  the  hieroglyphic  which  is  emblematic  of  Maat,  / — i,  i.e., 

"  Right  and  Truth."     Before  the  shrine  is  a  table  of  offerings,  by 

the  side  of  which,  on  a  reed  mat,  kneels  Ani  with  his  right  hand 

raised  in  adoration ;  in  the  left  hand  he  holds  the  kherp  sceptre. 

He  wears  on  his  head  a  whitened  wig,  and  the  so-called  "  cone," 

the  signification  of  which  is  unknown.     In  his  speech  Horus,  the 

son  of  Isis,  says,  "  I  have  come  to  thee,  0  Un-nefer,  and  I  have 

'  brought  unto  thee  the  Osiris  Ani.     His  heart  is  righteous,  and  it 

'  hath  come  forth  innocent  from  the  Balance ;  it  hath  not  sinned 

'  against  any  god  or  any  goddess.     Thoth  hath  weighed  it  accord- 

'  ing  to  the  decree  pronounced  unto  him  by  the  company  of  the 

'  gods  ;  and  it  is  most  true  and  righteous.     Grant  that  cakes  and 

'  ale  may  be  given  unto  him,  and  let  him  appear  in  the  presence 

'  of  Osiris ;  and  let  him  be  like  unto  the  followers  of  Horus  for 

'  ever  and  ever."     The  scribe  Ani  then  makes  his  prayer  to  Osiris 

in  the  following  words  : — "  Behold  I  am  in  thy  presence,  0  lord  of 

Amentet.     There  is  no  sin  in  my  body.     I  have  not  spoken  that 

which  is  not  true  knowingly,  nor  have  I  done  aught  with  a  false 

heart.     Grant  thou  that  I  may  be  like  unto  those  favoured  ones 

who   are  in  thy  following,  and  that  I  may  be  an  Osiris  greatly 

II — L 


146  OSIRIS   AS   JUDGE 

"favoured  of  the  beautiful  god,  and  beloved  of  the  lord  of  the 
*'  world,  [I]  who  am  indeed  a  royal  scribe,  who  loveth  thee, 
"  Ani  maa  kheru  before  the  god  Osiris."  The  reply  of  the  god 
Osiris  is  not  recorded,  but  we  may  assume  that  the  petition  of  Ani 
was  granted  by  him,  and  that  he  ratified  the  decision  of  the  gods 
in  respect  of  a  habitation  in  the  Sekhet-Aaru.  Thus  Ani  was  free 
to  pass  into  all  the  various  regions  of  the  dominion  of  Osiris,  and 
to  enter  into  everlasting  life  and  happiness. 

In  the  description  of  the  Judgment  Scene  given  above, 
reference  is  made  to  the  Eater  of  the  Dead,  and  in  connexion  with 
him  it  must  be  observed  that  he  was  supposed  to  devour  straight- 
way the  souls  of  all  those  who  were  condemned  in  the  Judgment 
Hall  of  Osiris,  and  that  from  one  point  of  view  the  punishment  of 
the  wicked  consisted  of  annihilation.     Above,  too,  it  has  been  said 


that    Ani    became    "maa   kheru,    Jp  ^    I,    before    Osiris," 

when  once  his  heart  had  been  weighed  and  had  not  been  found 
wanting.  Egyptologists  have  investigated  the  meaning  of  these 
words  very  carefully,  but  have  not  agreed  as  to  their  meaning ;  as 
a  result  maa  kheru  has  been  rendered  "  victorious,  triumphant, 
"  just,  justified,  truth-speaking,  truthful,  true  of  voice,  mighty  of 
"  word  or  speech,  etc."  Their  true  meaning  seems  to  be  "  he 
whose  word  is  right  and  true,"  i.e.,  he  whose  word  is  held  to  be 
right  and  true  by  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  and  therefore, 
whatsoever  is  ordered  or  commanded  by  the  person  who  is  declared 
in  the  Judgment  Hall  to  be  maa  kheru  is  straightway  performed 
by  the  beings  or  things  who  are  commanded  or  ordered.  Before  a 
man  who  is  maa  kheru  every  door  in  the  Underworld  opened 
itself,  and  every  hostile  power,  animate  or  inanimate,  was  made  to 
remove  itself  from  his  path. 

Passing  now  from  the  consideration  of  Osiris  as  the  king  and 
judge  of  the  dead,  we  must  briefly  refer  to  the  beautiful  hymns  to 
the  god  which  are  found  in  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  and  elsewhere. 
First  among  these  must  be  mentioned  the  very  remarkable 
composition  which  is  inscribed  on  a  stele  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Rationale,  Paris,  and  which  was  first  made  known  by  Cbabas. 
The  text  is  in  the  form  of  a  hymn  addressed  to  Osiris,  but  it  is  of 


OSIRIS   AS   JUDGE  147 

unique  importance  in  that  it  contains  a  proof  of  the  substantial 
accuracy  of  the  account  of  the  life  and  death  of  Osiris,  and  of  the 
birth  of  Horus,  given  by  Plutarch.  After  enumerating  the  various 
great  shrines  of  Osiris  in  Egypt,  and  ascribing  great  praise  to  this 
god,  and  summarising  his  beneficent  acts,  an  allusion  is  made  to 
his  death  and  to  the  search  which  Isis  made  for  his  body.  This 
goddess,  the  sister  and  wife  of  Osiris,  was  a  skilled  worker  of 
miracles,  and  she  knew  words  of  power  and  how  to  utter  them  in 
such  a  way  that  the  greatest  effect  might  result  from  them.  In 
the  form  of  a  bird  she  sought  her  brother's  body  ceaselessly,  and 
went  round  about  over  the  face  of  the  earth  uttering  cries  and 
moans,  and  she  did  not  desist  from  her  quest  until  she  found  it. 
When  she  saw  that  he  was  dead  she  produced  light  with  her 
feathers,  and  air  by  the  beating  of  her  wings,  and  then  by  means 
of  the  words  of  power  which  she  had  obtained  from  Thoth  she 
roused  Osiris  from  his  state  of  helplessness  and  inactivity,  and 
united  herself  to  him,  and  became  with  child  by  him,  and  in  due 
course  brought  forth  her  son  Horus  in  a  lonely  place  unknown  to 
any.  The  hymn  in  which  the  passage  occurs  is  so  important  that 
a  rendering  of  it  is  here  given ;  the  hieroglyphic  text,  with 
interlinear  transliteration  and  translation,  will  be  found  at  the  end 
of  this  section. 


(     148     ) 


CHAPTER    VII 
HYMN    TO    OSIRIS 

XVIII TH    DYNASTY,    ABOUT    B.C.    1500 

"1  T  OMAGE  to  thee,  0  Osiris,  the  lord  of  eternity,  the  king 
of  the  gods,  thou  who  hast  many  names,  whose  forms 
"  of  coming  into  being  are  holy,  whose  attributes  are  hidden  in  the 
"temples,  whose  Double  is  most  august  (or  venerated).  Thou  art 
"the  Chief  of  Tettu  (or  Busiris),  the  Great  One  who  dwelleth  2.  in 
"  Sekhem  (Letopolis),  the  lord  to  whom  praises  are  offered  in  the 
"  nome  of  Athi,1  the  Chief  of  the  divine  food  in  Annu  (On,  or  Helio- 
"  polis),  and  the  lord  who  is  commemorated  in  the  [Hall  (or  City)  of] 
"  two-fold  Right  and  Truth.  Thou  art  the  Hidden  Soul,  the  lord 
"of  Qereret  (Elephantine2),  the  holy  one  in  the  city  of  the  White 
"  Wall  (Memphis),  the  Soul  of  Ra,  and  thou  art  of  his  own  body. 
"  Offerings  and  oblations  are  made  to  thy  satisfaction  in  3.  Suten- 
"  henen  (Herakleopolis),  praise  in  abundance  is  bestowed  upon 
"thee  in  Nart,3  and  thy  Soul  hath  been  exalted  as  lord  of  the 
"  Great  House  in  Khemennu  (Hermopolis).  Thou  art  he  who  is 
"greatly  feared  in  Shas-hetep,  the  lord  of  eternity,  the  Chief  of 
"Abtu  (Abydos),  thy  seat  extendeth  into  the  land  of  holiness 
"  (Underworld),  and  thy  name  is  firmly  stablished  in  the  mouth  of 
"mankind.  4.  Thou  art  the  substance  of  [which  were  made]  the 
"two  lands  (i.e.,  Egypt),  thou  art  Tern,  the  divine  food  of  the 
"  doubles,  thou  art  the  chief  of  the  company  of  the  gods,  thou  art 
"  the  operative  and  beneficent  Spirit  among  the  spirits,  thou  drawest 

1  I.e.,  the  ninth  nome  of  Lower  Egypt,  also  read  Anetch. 

2  Qereret  =  Oerti,  ,  or  <z>  ,-M ,  were  the  two  caverns  where  the 

Nile  was  thought  to  rise  at  Elephantine. 

3  A  sanctuary  near  Herakleopolis. 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS  149 

"  thy  waters  from  the  abyss  of  heaven,  thou  bringest  along  the 
"  north  wind  at  eventide  and  air  for  thy  nostrils  to  the  satisfaction 
"  of  thy  heart.  5.  Thy  heart  germinateth,  thou  producest  the  light 
"  for  divine  food,  the  height  of  heaven  and  the  starry  gods  obey 
"thee,  thou  openest  the  great  pylons  [of  heaven],  and  thou  art  he 
"  unto  whom  praises  are  sung  in  the  southern  heaven,  and  to 
"  whom  adorations  are  performed  in  the  northern  heaven.  The 
"  stars  which  never  set  6.  are  under  the  seat  of  thy  face,  and  the 
"  stars  which  never  rest  are  thy  habitations ;  and  unto  thee 
"  offerings  are  made  according  to  the  decree  of  the  god  Seb. 

"The  company  of  the  gods  sing  praises  unto  thee,  and  the 
"  starry  gods  of  the  Underworld  bow  down  with  their  faces  to  the 
"  earth  [before  thee],  the  ends  of  the  earth  prostrate  themselves 
"  before  thee,  and  the  bounds  of  heaven  make  supplication  unto 
"thee  7.  when  they  see  thee.  Those  who  are  among  the  holy 
"  ones  are  in  awe  of  thee,  and  the  two  lands  in  their  length  and 
"breadth  ascribe  praises  unto  thee  when  they  meet  thy  majesty, 
"  0  thou  glorious  master,  thou  lord  of  masters,  who  art  endowed 
"  with  divine  rank  and  dignity,  who  art  stablished  in  [thy]  rule, 
"thou  beautiful  Sekhem  of  the  company  of  the  gods,  who  art 
"  pleasant  of  face,  8.  and  art  beloved  by  him  that  looketh  upon 
"  thee.  Thou  puttest  thy  fear  in  all  the  lands,  and  by  reason  of 
"  love  for  thee  all  [men]  proclaim  thy  name  as  being  above  that  of 
"  every  name.  All  mankind  make  offerings  unto  thee,  0  thou  lord 
"  who  art  commemorated  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  and  who  art 
"  greatly  praised  in  the  Uak  festival,  and  the  two  lands  with  one 
"  consent  9.  cry  out  unto  thee  with  cries  of  joy,  0  thou  great  one, 
"  thou  chief  of  thy  divine  brethren,  thou  prince  of  the  company  of 
"  the  gods,  thou  stablisher  of  Maat  throughout  the  two  lands,  who 
"placest  thy  son  upon  the  great  throne  of  his  father  Seb,  the 
"  darling;  of  his  mother  Nut. 

"  0  thou  great  one  of  two-fold  strength,  thou  hast  cast  down 
"  Seba,  thou  hast  slain  10.  thine  enemy,  and  thou  hast  set  thy 
"fear  in  thy  foe.  Thou  bringest  [together]  remote  boundaries, 
"  thou  art  firm  of  heart,  thy  two  feet  are  lifted  up,  thou  art  the 
"heir  of  Seb  and  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  two  lands,  who  hath 
"seen  thy  power  and  hath  given  command  for  thee  to  lead  11.  the 


150  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 

"  two  lands  by  thy  hand  until  the  end  of  time.  Thou  hast  made 
"  the  earth  in  thy  hand,  and  its  waters,  and  its  air,  and  its  green 
"  herb,  and  all  its  cattle,  and  all  its  birds,  and  all  its  fishes,  and  all 
"  its  reptiles,  and  [all]  its  four-footed  beasts.  The  desert  is  thine 
"by  right,  0  son  of  12.  Nut,  and  the  two  lands  are  content  to 
"make  him  to  rise  up  upon  the  throne  of  his  father  like  Ra. 
"Thou  risest  in  the  horizon,  thou  givest  light  through  the 
"  darkness,  thou  makest  light  to  spread  abroad  from  thy  plumes, 
"and  thou  floodest  with  light  the  two  lands  like  the  13.  Disk  at 
"  the  beginning  of  sunrise.  Thy  crown  pierceth  heaven,  thou  art 
"  a  brother  of  the  starry  gods,  and  the  guide  of  every  god,  and 
"  thou  dost  work  by  decree  and  word,  0  thou  favoured  one  of  the 
"  company  of  the  gods,  who  art  greatly  beloved  by  the  Lesser 
"  Company  of  the  gods. 

"Thy  sister  protected    thee,  and  she   drove  away  thy  foes, 

"  14.  and   she  warded    off  from   thee  evil  hap,  and  uttered   the 

"  words  of  power  with  all  the  skill  of  her  mouth  ;  her  tongue  was 

"  trained,  and  she  committed  no  fault  of  utterance,  and  she  made 

"  [her]  decree  and  [her]  words  to  have  effect,  Isis,  the  mighty  one, 

"  the  avenger  of  her  brother.     She  sought  thee  without  weariness, 

"15.  she  went  round  about  through  this  land  in  sorrow,  and  she 

"  set  not  to  the  ground  her  foot  until  she  had  found  thee.     She 

"  made  light  with  her  feathers,  she  made  air  to  come  into  being 

"  with  her  wings,  and  she  uttered  cries  of  lamentation  at  the  bier 

"  of  her  brother.     16.  She  stirred  up  from  his  state  of  iDactivity 

"  him  whose  heart  was  still  (i.e.,  Osiris),  she  drew  from  him  his  seed, 

"  she  made  an  heir,  she  suckled  the  babe  in  solitariness,  and  the 

"  place  wherein  she  reared  him  is  unknown,  and  his  hand  is  mighty 

"within  the  house    17.  of  Seb.     The  company  of  the  gods  rejoice 

"  and  are  glad  at  the  coming  of  Horus,  the  son  of  Osiris,  whose 

"  heart  is  stablished,  and  whose  word  taketh  effect,  the  son  of  Isis 

"and  the  heir  of  Osiris.     The  assessors  of  Maat  gather  together 

"  unto  him,  and  with  them  are  assembled  the  company  of  the  gods, 

"and  Neb-er-tcher   himself,  and  the  lords  of  Maat.     18.  Verily 

"  those  who  repulse  faults  rejoice  in  the  house  of  Seb  to  bestow 

"the   rank   [of  Osiris]    upon  its   lord,   to  whom  is  by  right  all 

"  sovereignty.     The  voice  of  Horus  hath  found  the  power  of  maat. 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS  131 

"  The  rank  of  his  father  hath  been  given  unto  him,  and  he  hath 
"come  forth  crowned  19.  by  the  command  of  Seb.  He  hath 
"received  the  sceptre  of  the  two  lands,  and  the  White  Crown  is 
"stablished  upon  his  head.  He  judgeth  the  earth  according  to 
"his  plans,  and  heaven  and  earth  are  open  before  his  face.  He 
"layeth  his  commands  upon  men,  and  spirits,  and  upon  the  pat 
"  and  hen-memet  beings,  and  Egypt,  and  the  Ha-nebu,  and  all  the 
"region  20.  wherein  the  Disk  revolveth  are  under  his  plans,  as 
"  well  as  the  north  wind,  and  the  river  flood,  and  the  celestial 
"  waters,  and  the  staff  of  life,  and  every  flower.  [He  is]  Nepra, 
"  and  he  giveth  his  green  herbs ;  he  is  the  lord  of  tchefau  food,  he 
"  leadeth  on  abundance,  and  he  giveth  it  unto  all  lands. 

"21.  There  is  joy  everywhere,  [all]  hearts  are  glad,  [all] 
"  hearts  are  glad,  every  face  is  happy,  and  every  one  adoreth  his 
"  beauties.  His  love  is  doubly  sweet  unto  us,  and  his  active 
"  beneficence  embraceth  all  hearts,  and  the  love  for  him  is  great  in 
"  every  body,  and  they  do  what  is  right  22.  for  the  son  of  Isis. 
"  His  enemy  hath  fallen  before  his  wrath,  and  he  that  worketh 
"  evil  hath  fallen  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  ;  when  the  son  of  Isis, 
"  the  avenger  of  his  father,  the  son  of  Isis,  cometh  against  him,  he 
"  shooteth  forth  his  anger  in  his  season.  Holy  and  beneficent  is  his 
"  name,  and  the  awe  of  him  abideth  in  its  place.  23.  His  laws  are 
"  stablished  everywhere,  the  path  is  cleared,  the  roads  are  opened, 
"  and  the  two  lands  are  content ;  wickedness  departeth,  evil  goeth 
"  away,  the  earth  is  at  peace  under  [the  rule  of]  its  lord,  and  Maat 
"  is  stablished  by  24.  its  lord,  and  setteth  its  back  against  iniquity. 
"The  heart  of  Un-nefer,  the  son  of  Isis,  is  glad,  for  he  hath 
"  received  the  White  Crown,  and  the  rank  of  his  father  is  his  by 
"  right  in  the  house  of  Seb  ;  he  is  Ra  when  he  speaketh  and  Thoth 
"  when  he  writeth.  25.  The  assessors  [of  Osiris]  are  content ;  let 
"  what  hath  been  decreed  for  thee  by  thy  father  Seb  be  performed 
"  according  to  his  word. 

"  May  Osiris,  Governor  of  Amentet,  lord  of  Abydos,  give  a 
"  royal  offering  !  May  he  give  sepulchral  meals  of  oxen,  and  fowl, 
"  and  bandages,  and  incense,  and  wax,  and  gifts  of  all  kinds,  and 
"  the  [power  to]  make  transformations,  and  mastery  over  the  Nile, 
"  and  [the  power]  to  appear  as  a  living  soul,  and  to  see  the  Disk 


152 


HYMN   TO   OSIRIS 


"  daily,  and  entrance  into  and  exit  from  Re-stau  ;  may  [my]  soul 
"  not  be  repulsed  in  the  Underworld,  may  it  be  among  the  favoured 
"  ones  before  Un-nefer,  may  it  receive  cakes  and  appear  before  the 


Osiris  on  his  funeral  bed. 


"  altar  of  the  Great  God,  and  snuff  the  sweet  breath  of  the  north 
"  wind." 


(     153     ) 


CHAPTER    VIII 

HYMNS   TO    OSIRIS,    AND    OSIRIS    UN-NEFER, 
FROM   THE   BOOK   OF   THE   DEAD 

I  "  A*~^  LORY  1  be  to  thee,  Osikis  Un-nefer,  the  great  god  who 

I     "Y"     dwellest  within  Abtu  (Abydos),  thou  king  of  eternity, 

"  thou  lord  of    everlastingness,  who  passest   through   millions    of 

"  years  in  the  course  of  thine  existence.     Thou  art  the  eldest  son 

"  of  the  womb  of   Nut,  and  thou  wast   engendered  by   Seb,  the 

"  Ancestor  (     d        erpdt)  ;     thou  art  the   lord   of  the    crowns   of 

"  the  South  and  North,  thou  art  the  lord  of  the  lofty  white  crown, 

"  and  as  prince  of  gods  and  men  thou  hast  received  the  crook,  | ,  and 

"the  whip,  A  ,  and  the  dignity  of  his  divine  fathers.     Let  thine 

"  heart,  0  Osiris,  who  art  in  the  Mountain  of  Amentet,  be  content, 
"  for  thy  son  Horus  is  stablished  upon  thy  throne.  Thou  art 
crowned  lord  of  Tettu  (Mendes),  and  ruler  in  Abtu  (Abydos). 
"Through  thee  the  world  waxeth  green  in  triumph  before  the 
"might  of  Neb-er-tcher.  He  leadeth  in  his  train  that  which  is, 
"  and  that  which  is  not  yet,  in  his  name  Ta-her-sta-nef ;  he  toweth 
"  along  the  earth  by  Maat  in  his  name  of  'Seker';  he  is  exceedingly 
"  mighty  and  most  terrible  in  his  name  '  Osiris ' ;  he  endure th  for 
"  ever  and  for  ever  in  his  name  of  '  Un-nefer.' 

"  Homage  be  to  thee,  0  King  of  kings,  Lord  of  lords,  Ruler 
"  of  princes,  who  from  the  womb  of  Nut  hast  ruled  the  world  and 

"  the   Underworld    u\  <J±>  f^^^o   Akert).     Thy  members  are    [like] 

"bright   and  shining  copper,  thy  head  is  blue  [like]  lapis-lazuli, 

1    Prom  the  Papyrus  of  Ani,  sheet  '2. 


154  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 

"  and  the  greenness  of  the  turquoise  is  on  both  sides  of  thee,  0  thou 
"  god  An  ( I  J])  of  millions  of  years,  whose  form  and  whose  beauty 
"of  face  are  all-pervading  in  Ta-tchesert  (i.e.,  the  Underworld)." 

II.  "Praise   be   unto   thee,1   Osiris,    lord    of  eternity,   Un- 

"  nefer-Heru-Khuti  (^  I  J  ^k  "^  ®u  S)  i  whose  forms  are 
"manifold,  and  whose  attributes  are  majestic,  Ptah-Seker-Tem 
"(D8  ^^  \\  *M  .~\  J) )  in  Annu  (Heliopolis),  the  lord  of  the 
"Hidden  House,  the  creator  of  Het-ka-Ptah  (Memphis)  and  of 
"  the  gods  [therein],  thou  guide  of  the  Underworld,  whom  [the  gods] 

f>  @).  Isis 
"embraceth  thee  with  content,  and  she  driveth  away  the  fiends 
"from  the  mouth  of  thy  paths.  Thou  turnest  thy  face  upon 
"Amentet,  and  thou  makest  the  earth  to  shine  as  with  refined 
"copper.  Those  who  have  lain  down  (i.e.,  the  dead)  rise  up  to 
"  look  upon  thee,  they  breathe  the  air  and  they  look  upon  thy  face 
"  when  the  disk  riseth  on  the  horizon  ;  their  hearts  are  at  peace 
"inasmuch  as  they  behold  thee,  0  thou  who  art  Eternity  and 
"  Everlastingness." 

III.  "1.   Homage1  to    thee,    Khabesu    (i.e.,    Starry  deities 

"1  lik  Ji  P  * ) '  in  -^nnn  (Heliopolis)  and  Hememet  (m  t^  Jj^  ^) 
"in  Kher-aha,  thou  god  Unti,  who  art  more  glorious  than  the  gods 
"  who  are  hidden  in  Annu.  2.  Homage  to  thee,  0  An  (|  '  ^)  in 
"An-tes  (|  ),  Great  One,  Heru-khuti,  thou  stridest  over 
"heaven  with  long  strides,  0  Heru-khuti.  3.  Homage  to  thee,  0 
"soul  of  eternity,  thou  god  Bai  (^  (1(1^),  who  dwellest  in 
"  Tettu  (Mendes),  Un-nefer,  son  of  Nut ;  thou  art  the  lord  of 
"  Akert  (i.e.,  the  Underworld).  4.  Homage  to  thee  in  thy  dominion 
"  in  Tettu  ;    the  Ureret  crown  (\/\   is  stablished  upon  thy  head  ; 

"  thou  art  One  and  thou  makest  the  strength  which  is  thine  own 
"protection,  and  thou  dwellest  in  Tettu.     5.  Homage  to  thee,  0 

"  lord  of  the  Acacia  Tree  (- — °  ^  «&*  Jn),  the  Seker  Boat  is  upon  its 

1  From  the  Papyrus  of  Ani,  sheet  19. 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS  155 

"sledge ;    thou  drivest  back  the  Fiend    (['  J  Q   y  °  |  Sebcm),  the 
"  worker  of  evil,  and  thou  causest  the  Utchat  (^§) ,  to  rest  upon 

"  its  seat.  6.  Homage  to  thee,  thou  who  art  mighty  in  thine  hour, 
"thou  great  and  mighty  prince,  who  dwellest  in  An-rut-f;1  thou 
"  art  the  lord  of  eternity  and  the  creator  of  evcrlastingness,  thou 
"art  the  lord  of  Suten-henen  (Herakleopolis  Magna).  7.  Homage 
"  to  thee,  0  thou  who  restest  upon  Maat,  thou  art  the  lord  of  Abtu, 
"  and  thy  limbs  are  joined  unto  Ta-tchesertet  ;  what  thou 
"abominatest  is  falsehood  (or,  deceit  and  guile).  8.  Homage  to 
"  thee,  0  thou  who  art  within  thy  boat,  thou  bringest  along  Hapi 
"  (Nile)  from  out  of  his  source  ; 2  Shu  shineth  upon  thy  body,  and 
"  thou  art  he  who  dwelleth  in  Nekhen.3  9.  Homage  to  thee,  0 
"creator  of  the  gods,  king  of  the  South  and  North,  Osiris, 
"  (  %^  ffl J3^  $1)  >  whose  word  is  maat,  thou  possessor  of  the  two 
"  lands  in  thy  seasons  of  operative  power  ;  thou  art  the  lord  of  the 
"  Atebui  (i.e.,  the  two  lands  which  lay  one  on  each  side  of  the 
"celestial  Nile)."  The  above  nine  addresses  form,  in  reality,  a 
litany,  and  after  each  of  them  the  deceased  said  to  Osiris,  "  0 
"  grant  thou  unto  me  a  path  whereon  I  may  pass  in  peace,  for  I 
"  am  just  and  true;  I  have  not  spoken  lies  wittingly,  nor  have  I 
"  done  aught  with  deceit." 

IV.  "  Homage  4  to  thee,  0  Osiris  Un-Nefer,  whose  word  is 
"  niaclt,  thou  son  of  Nut,  thou  first-born  son  of  Seb,  thou  mighty 
"  one  who  comest  forth  from  Nut,  thou  king  in  the  city  of  Nifu-ur, 
"  thou  Governor  of  Amentet,  thou  lord  of  Abtu,  thou  lord  of  souls, 
"  thou  mighty  one  of  strength,  thou  lord  of  the  Atef  crown,  j£ . 
"in  Suten-henen,  thou  lord  of  the  divine  form  in  the  city  of 
"Nifu-ur,  thou  lord  of  the  tomb,  thou  mighty  one  of  souls  in 
"Tattu,  thou  lord  of  [sepulchral]  offerings,  whose  festivals  are 
"many  in  Tattu.  The  god  Horus  exalteth  his  father  in  every 
"  place,  and  he  uniteth  himself  unto  the  goddess  Isis  and  unto  her 

1  A  district  of  the  Underworld. 

2  An  allusion  to  the  fact  that  Osiris  was  originally  a  Nile  god. 

:>  Nekhen  was  the  sanctuary  of  the  goddess  Nekhebet  of  Nekhebet  (Eileithvia- 
polis),  whose  male  counterpart  was  An,  a  form  of  Osiris. 
4  Bool-  of  the  Dead,  Chap,  cxxviii.  (Saite  Recension). 


156  HYMN    TO    OSIRIS 

"sister  Nephthys  ;  and  the  god  Thoth  reciteth  for  him  the  mighty 
"  glorifyings  which  are  within  him,  and  which  come  forth  from  his 
"  mouth,  and  the  heart  of  Horus  is  stronger  than  that  of  all  the 
"  gods.  Rise  up,  then,  0  Horus,  thou  son  of  Isis,  and  avenge  thy 
"  father  Osiris.  Hail,  0  Osiris,  I  have  come  unto  thee ;  I  am 
"  Horus  and  I  have  avenged  thee,  and  I  feed  this  day  upon  the 
"  sepulchral  meals  of  oxen  and  feathered  fowl,  and  upon  all  the 
"  beautiful  things  offered  unto  Osiris.  Rise  up,  then,  0  Osiris,  for 
"  I  have  struck  down  for  thee  all  thine  enemies,  and  I  have  taken 
"  vengeance  upon  them  for  thee.  I  am  Horus  upon  this  beautiful 
"  day  of  thy  fair  rising  in  thy  Soul,  which  exalteth  thee  along  with 
"itself  on  this  day  before  thy  divine  sovereign  princes.  Hail, 
"  0  Osiris,  thy  double  (lea)  hath  come  unto  thee  and  rests  with 
"  thee,  and  thou  restest  therein  in  thy  name  of  Ka-Hetep.  It 
"  maketh  thee  glorious  in  thy  name  of  Khu,  and  it  maketh  thee  like 
"  unto  the  Morning  Star  in  thy  name  of  Pehu,  and  it  openeth  for 
"  thee  the  ways  in  thy  name  of  Ap-uat.  Hail,  0  Osiris,  I  have 
"  come  unto  thee,  and  I  have  set  thine  enemies  under  thee  in 
"  every  place,  and  thy  word  is  macit  in  the  presence  of  the  gods 
"  and  of  the  divine  sovereign  chiefs.  Hail,  0  Osiris,  thou  hast 
"  received  thy  sceptre  and  the  place  whereon  thou  art  to  rest,  and 
"  thy  steps  are  under  thee.  Thou  bringest  food  to  the  gods,  and 
"  thou  bringest  sepulchral  meals  unto  those  who  dwell  in  their 
"  tombs.  Thou  hast  given  thy  might  unto  the  gods,  and  thou 
"hast  created  the  Great  God  ;  thou  hast  thy  existence  with  them 
"  in  their  spiritual  bodies,  thou  gatherest  thyself  unto  all  the  gods, 
"  and  thou  hearest  the  word  of  madt  on  the  day  when  offerings  to 
"  this  god  are  ordered  on  the  festivals  of  Uka." 

V.  "  Homage  to  thee,1  0  Governor  oe  Amentet,  Un-nefer, 
"  lord  of  Ta-tchesert,  0  thou  who  art  diademed  like  Ra,  verily  I 
"  come  to  see  thee  and  to  rejoice  at  thy  beauties.  His  disk  is  thy 
"  disk ;  his  rays  of  light  are  thy  rays  of  light ;  his  TJreret  crown  is 
"  thy  TJreret  crown ;  his  majesty  is  thy  majesty ;  His  risings  are 
"  thy  risings ;  his  beauties  are  thy  beauties ;  the  terror  which  he 
"  inspireth  is  the  terror  which  thou  inspirest ;    his  odour  is  thy 

1  Book  of  the  Dead,  Chap,  clxxxi. 


HYMN   TO   OSIRIS  157 

"  odour ;  his  hall  is  thy  hall ;  his  seat  is  thy  seat ;  his  throne  is  thv 
"  throne ;  his  heir  is  thy  heir ;  his  ornaments  are  thy  ornaments  ; 
"  his  decree  is  thy  decree ;  his  hidden  place  is  thy  hidden  place : 
"  his  things  are  thy  things  ;  his  knowledge  is  thy  knowledge  ;  the 
"  attributes  of  greatness  which  are  his  are  thine  ;  the  power  which 
"  protecteth  him  protecteth  thee  ;  he  dieth  not  and  thou  diest  not ; 
"  he  is  not  overcome  by  his  enemies  and  thou  art  not  overcome  by 
"  thine  enemies  ;  no  evil  thing  whatsoever  hath  happened  unto 
"  him,  and  no  evil  thing  whatsoever  shall  happen  unto  thee  for 
"  ever  and  ever. 

"  Homage  to  thee,  0  Osiris,  son  of  Nut,  lord  of  the  two  horns, 
"  whose  Atef  crown  is  exalted,  may  the  Ureret  crown  be  given 
"unto  thee,  along  with  sovereignty  before  the  company  of  the 
"  gods.  May  the  god  Temu  make  awe  of  thee  to  exist  in  the 
"  hearts  of  men,  and  women,  and  gods,  and  spirits,  and  the  dead. 
"  May  dominion  be  given  unto  thee  in  Annu ;  mayest  thou  be 
"  mighty  of  transformations  in  Tattu  (Mendes)  ;  mayest  thou  be 
"  the  lord  greatly  feared  in  the  Aati ;  mayest  thou  be  mighty 
"  in  victory  in  Re-stau ;  mayest  thou  be  the  lord  who  is  com- 
"  memorated  with  gladness  in  the  Great  House  ;  mayest  thou  have 
"  manifold  risings  like  the  sun  in  Abtu ;  may  triumph  be  given 
"  unto  thee  in  the  presence  of  the  company  of  the  gods ;  mayest 
"  thou  gain  the  victory  over  the  mighty  Powers ;  may  the  fear  of 
"  thee  be  made  to  go  [throughout]  the  earth  ;  and  may  the  princes 
"  stand  up  upon  their  stations  before  the  sovereign  of  the  gods  of 
"  the  Tuat,  before  thee  the  mighty  Sekhem  of  heaven,  the  Prince 
"  of  the  living  ones,  the  king  of  those  who  are  in  [his  train],  and 
"  the  Glorifier  of  thousands  in  Kher-aha.  The  denizens  of  heaven 
"  rejoice  in  thee,  0  thou  who  art  the  lord  of  the  chosen  offerings  in 
"  the  mansions  above  ;  a  meat  offering  is  made  unto  thee  in  the  city 
"  of  Het-ka-Ptah  (Memphis)  ;  and  the  '  things  of  the  night '  are 
"  prepared  for  him  in  Sekhem  (Letopolis).  Behold,  0  mighty  god, 
"  thou  great  one  of  two-fold  strength,  thy  son  Horus  avengeth  thee. 
"  He  doeth  away  with  every  evil  thing  whatsoever  that  belongeth 
"  to  thee,  he  bindeth  up  in  order  for  thee  thy  person,  he  gathereth 
"  together  for  thee  thy  members,  he  collecteth  for  thee  thy  bones, 
"  and  he  brinsreth  to  thee  whatsoever  belomreth  to  thee.      Thus 


158  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 

"  thou  art  raised  up,  0  Osiris,  and  I  have  given  unto  thee  thy 
"  hand,  and  I  make  thee  to  stand  up  a  living  being  for  ever  and 
"  ever. 

VI.  "  Homage  to  thee,1  0  Governor  oe  those  who  are  in 
"  Amenti,  who  makest  mortals  to  be  born  again,  who  renewest  thy 
"  youth,  thou  comest  who  dwellest  in  thy  season,  and  who  art  more 

"  beautiful  than ,  thy  son  Horus  hath  avenged  thee  ;  the 

"rank  and  dignity  of  Tern  have  been  conferred  upon  thee,  0  Un- 
"  nefer.  Thou  art  raised  up,  0  Bull  of  Amentet,  thou  art  stablished 
"in  the  body  of  Nut,  who  unite th  herself  unto  thee,  and  who 
"  cometh  forth  with  thee.  Thy  heart  is  stablished  upon  that  which 
"  supporteth  it,  and  thy  breast  is  as  it  was  formerly ;  thy  nose  is 
"firmly  fixed  with  life  and  power,  thou  livest,  and  thou  art 
"  renewed,  and  thou  makest  thyself  young  like  Ra  each  and  every 
"  day.  Mighty,  mighty  is  Osiris  in  victory,  and  he  is  firmly 
"  stablished  with  life." 

VII.  "  Thy  heart  rejoiceth,2  0  lord  of  the  gods,  thy  heart 
"  rejoiceth  greatly ;  the  Black  Land  and  the  Red  Land  are  at 
"  peace,  and  they  serve  thee  humbly  under  thy  sovereign  power. 
"The  temples  are  stablished  upon  their  own  lands,  cities  and 
"  nomes  possess  firmly  the  goods  which  are  inscribed  in  their  names, 
"  and  we  will  make  to  thee  the  divine  offerings  which  we  are 
"bound  to  make,  and  offer  sacrifices  in  thy  name  for  ever. 
"  Acclamations  are  made  in  thy  name,  libations  are  poured  out  to 
"thy  double.  Sepulchral  meals  [are  brought  unto  thee]  by  the 
"  khus  who  are  in  their  following,  and  water  is  sprinkled  upon 
"  the  offerings  (?)  upon  both  sides  of  the  souls  of  the  dead  in 
"  this  land  ;  every  plan  which  hath  been  decreed  for  thee  according 
"  to  the  commands  of  Ra  in  the  beginning  hath  been  perfected. 
"  Now,  therefore,  0  son  of  Nut,  thou  art  diademed  as  Neb-er-tcher 
"  is  diademed  at  his  rising.  Thou  livest,  thou  art  stablished,  thou 
"  renewest  thy  youth,  thou  art  true  and  perfect ;  thy  father  Ra 
"  maketh  strong  thy  members,  and  the  company  of  the  gods  make 
"  acclamations  unto  thee.  The  goddess  Isis  is  with  thee,  and  she 
"  never  leaveth  thee  ;  [thou  art]  not  overthrown  by  thine  enemies. 

1  Book  of  the  Dead,  Chap,  clxxxii.  (11.  1.5-19). 

2  Ibid.,  Chap,  clxxxiii.  (11.  17  ft'.). 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS  159 

"  The  lords  of  all  lands  praise  thy  beauties  even  as  they  praise  Ra 
"  when  he  riseth  at  the  beginning  of  each  day.  Thou  risest  up 
"  like  an  exalted  one  upon  thy  standard,  thy  beauties  exalt  the 
"  face  and  make  long  the  stride.  I  have  given  unto  thee  the  sove- 
"  reignty  of  thy  father  Seb,  and  the  goddess  Mut,  thy  mother,  who 
"  gave  birth  to  the  gods,  brought  thee  forth  as  the  first-born  of 
"  five  gods,  and  created  thy  beauties,  and  fashioned  thy  members. 
"  Thou  art  stablished  as  king,  the  white  crown  is  upon  thy  head, 
"  and  thou  hast  grasped  in  thy  hands  the  crook  and  the  whip  ; 
"  whilst  thou  wert  in  the  womb,  and  hadst  not  as  yet  come  forth 
"  therefrom  upon  the  earth,  thou  wert  crowned  lord  of  the  two 
"  lands,  and  the  Atef  crown  of  Ra  was  upon  thy  brow.  The  gods 
"  come  unto  thee  bowing  low  to  the  ground,  and  they  hold  thee  in 
"  fear  ;  they  retreat  and  depart  when  they  see  thee  possessing  the 
"terror  of  Ra,  and  the  victory  of  thy  Majesty  is  in  their  hearts. 
"  Life  is  with  thee,  and  offerings  of  meat  and  drink  follow  thee, 
"  and  that  which  is  thy  due  is  offered  up  before  thy  face." 

VIII.  "  Homage  to  thee,1  0  thou  holy  god,  thou  mighty  and 
"beneficent  being,  thou  Prince  of  eternity  who  dwellest  in  thy 
"  abode  in  the  Sektet  Boat,  thou  whose  risings  are  manifold  in  the 
"Atet  Boat,  to  thee  are  praises  rendered  in  heaven  and  upon 
"  earth.  Peoples  and  nations  exalt  thee,  and  the  majesty  of  thy 
"  terror  is  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  spirits,  and  the  dead.  Thy 
"  Soul  is  in  Tattu  (Mendes)  and  the  terror  of  thee  is  in  Suten-henen 
"  (Herakleopolis) ;  thou  settest  the  visible  emblems  of  thyself  in 
"Annu  and  the  greatness  of  thy  transformations  in  the  double 
"  place  of  purification." 

IX.  "  Homage  to  thee,  0  great  God,  thou  Lord  of  Maati, 
"  I  have  come  to  thee,  0  my  Lord,  and  I  have  brought  myself 
"  hither  that  I  may  behold  thy  beauties.  I  know  thee,  and  I  know 
"  thy  name,  and  I  know  the  names  of  the  Two  and  Forty  gods  who 
"  exist  with  thee  in  the  Hall  of  Maati,  who  live  as  warders  of 
"  sinners  and  who  feed  upon  their  blood  on  the  day  when  the  lives 
"  of  men  are  taken  into  account  in  the  presence  of  the  god 
"  Un-nefer  ;  in  truth  thy  name  is  '  Rekhti-merti-neb-Maati.'      In 

1  Booh  of  the  Dead,  Chap,  clxxxv. 


160  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 

"  truth  I  have  come  to  thee,  and  I  have  brought  Maat  to  thee,  and 
"  I  have  destroyed  wickedness  for  thee.  I  have  not  done  evil  to 
"mankind.  I  have  not  oppressed  the  members  of  my  family. 
"  I  have  not  wrought  evil  in  the  place  of  Maat.  I  have  had  no 
"knowledge  of  worthless  men.  I  have  not  wrought  evil.  I  have 
"  not  made  to  be  the  first  [consideration]  of  each  day  that  excessive 
"  labour  should  be  performed  for  me.  I  have  not  brought  forward 
"  my  name  for  honours.  I  have  not  ill-treated  servants.  I  have 
"  not  thought  scorn  of  God.  I  have  not  defrauded  the  oppressed 
"  one  of  his  goods.  I  have  not  done  that  which  is  an  abomination 
"  unto  the  gods.  I  have  not  caused  harm  to  be  done  to  the  servant 
"  by  his  chief.  I  have  not  caused  pain.  I  have  made  no  man  to 
"  suffer  hunger.  I  have  made  no  one  to  weep.  I  have  done  no 
"  murder.  I  have  not  given  the  order  for  murder  to  be  done  for 
"me.  I  have  not  inflicted  pain  upon  mankind.  I  have  not 
"  defrauded  the  temples  of  their  oblations.  I  have  not  purloined 
"  the  cakes  of  the  gods.  I  have  not  carried  off  the  cakes  offered  to 
"  the  spirits.  I  have  not  committed  fornication.  I  have  not 
"  entered  the  holy  places  of  the  god  of  my  city  in  a  polluted  con- 
"  dition.  I  have  not  diminished  from  the  bushel.  I  have  neither 
"  added  to  nor  filched  away  land.  I  have  not  encroached  upon  the 
"  fields  [of  others].  I  have  not  added  to  the  weights  of  the  scales 
"  (i.e.,  cheated  the  seller).  I  have  not  misread  the  pointer  of  the 
"scales  (i.e.,  cheated  the  buyer).  I  have  not  carried  away  the 
"  milk  from  the  mouths  of  children.  I  have  not  driven  away  the 
"  cattle  from  their  pastures.  I  have  not  snared  the  feathered  fowl 
"  of  the  preserves  of  the  gods.  I  have  not  caught  fish  [with  bait 
"  made  of]  fish  of  their  kind.  I  have  not  turned  back  the  water  at 
"  the  time  [when  it  should  flow].  I  have  not  cut  a  cutting  in  a 
"  canal  of  running  water.  I  have  not  extinguished  a  fire  when  it 
"  should  burn.  I  have  not  violated  the  seasons  of  the  chosen  meat 
"  offerings.  I  have  not  driven  off  the  cattle  from  the  property  of 
"the  gods.  I  have  not  repulsed  God  in  his  manifestations.  lam 
"  pure.  I  am  pure.  I  am  pure.  I  am  pure.  My  purity  is  the 
"  purity  of  that  great  Bennu  which  is  in  the  city  of  Suten-henen 
"  (Herakleopolis  Magna),  for,  behold,  lam  the  nose  of  the  god  of 
"  the  winds  who  maketh  all  mankind  to  live  on  the  day  when  the 


HYMN    TO    OSIRIS  161 

"  Eye  of  Ra  is  full  in  Annu  at  the  end  of  the  second  month  of  the 
"season  Pert1  in  the  presence  of  the  divine  lord  of  the  earth. 
"  I  have  seen  the  Eye  of  Ra  when  it  was  full  in  Annu,  therefore  let 
"  not  evil  befall  me  in  this  land  and  in  this  Hall  of  Maati,  because 
"  I,  even  I,  know  the  names  of  these  gods  who  are  therein  and  who 
"are  the  followers  of  the  great  god." 

1  I.e.,  the  Season  of  Growing;  the  second  month  of  Pert  is  the  sixth  month 
of  the  Egyptian  year. 


II M 


(     162     ) 


CHAPTER    IX 
HYMN    TO    OSIRIS1 

XVIIITH  DYNASTY,  ABOUT  B.C.   1500 


i.im,£.    ^   ^     M     l       -1! 

dnetch    hrd-k       Asdr       neb  heh  suten         neteru 

Homage  to  thee,   Osiris,     lord     of  eternity,     king     of  the  gods, 


^  <=>  ^  #*,  i 

"■  AW\M  5TI!     ' 


q— ^ 


ash  rennu      tcheser        kheperu  sheta  dru  em 

many     of  names,     holy      of  creations,     hidden       of  forms        in 


erperu  shepses  ka    pu  hhent        Tattu  ur 

the  temples,     whose  ka  is  venerated,    chief     of  Tattu,     great  one 


khert  em  Sekhem  neb  hennu  em 

contained  in   the  temple  of  Sekhem,  lord       of  praises         in 


ft    o\\ 


Ji/?i  khent  tchef  em        Annu  neb 

the  nome  Athi,    chief    of  the  sacred  food    in    Heliopolis,    the  lord 

1  The  stele  on  which  the  following  text  is  inscribed  is  preserved  in  the 
Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris.  Its  importance  was  first  recognized  by  Chabas  (see 
Eevue  Archeologique,  1857,  p.  65),  and  a  complete  copy  of  it  will  be  found  in 
Ledrain,  Monuments  Jfigyptiens,  pll.  xxii.  ff. 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 


selchau 


b 


163 


D 


em    Madti       ba        sheta        neb       Qerert 
who  is  commemorated    in     Maati,    soul      hidden,    lord    of  Qerert, 


^  k  .01     *V   ?    ^--^ 

tcheser       em      Aneb-hetch  ba  Rd         tchet  -  f  tchesef 

holy  one,      in     White  Wall,     the  soul     of  Ra,     of  his  very  body, 


£ 


ra 

AA/WVv 

o 


hetep 


em       Suten-henen        menleh        hennu       em      Nart 


satisfied  with    in      Henen-suten,    abundant   of  praise     in      Nart, 


offerings 


kheper  setheset        ba  -  f 


neb 


--0 


het  aa 


em    Khemennu 


hath  become  exalted  his  soul  [as]  lord  of  the  Great    in  Khemennu, 

House 


1 

in 


O 

heh 


hhent 


da  neru        em      Shas-hetep       neb 

great  one     of  terror      in      Shas-hetep,     lord      of  eternity,    chief 


.A. 


J 


9 


%s 


Abtu  her  dst  -  f 

of  Abydos,     extendeth     his  seat 


em 


Ta-tcheser 


tettet 


in      the  Land  of     established 
holiness. 


00 


ren        em  re  en  ret  pautti  en 

of  name     in     the  mouth     of     mankind,     the  two-fold  pant        of 


tn  ni  Tern  tchef  Ica/U  hhent  paut 

the  two  lands,     Tern     the  divine  god    of  the  has,    chief     of  the  paut 


u 

III 
lean 


0 


164 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 


1 


.$ 


D 


neteru        khu        menhh      emmd  kliu  Jchenp      en     nef 

of  the  gods,  spirit  beneficent  among  the  spirits,  he  clraweth 


OOO 


AAMAA 
AAAAM 


iDh 


AA/W\A       AW/Wv 


M 


^ 


iVw  mw  -  /  Jcheni-nef  meht  mesas 

[from]  Nu    his  waters,    he  bringeth  along      the  wind     of  eventide 


z£3 


<ff 


we/ 
[and]  air 


er        fentet-f      er  heteptu  db  -f 

to        his  nostrils        to  the  satisfaction        of  his  heart, 


i> 


□D 


retet.      en         db-f  meses-nef  Ichut  telief 

germinateth  his  heart,  he  produceth    the  light,    the  divine  food, 


* 

in 


* 


i   i   i 


sbau    dam 


setem-nef  hert   sbau  sun-nef 

obey  him  heaven  and  the      he  maketh  to       the  great  gates, 

star-gods,  be  open 


rn   t 

/www 

o 


* 


ooc 


neb        hennn 


tuau 


em        pet  reset 

lord    of  praises     in      the  southern      adored 

heaven, 


em       pet  mehtet 

in      the  northern 
heaven, 


A* 


i  i 


6. 


dulchemu 


*  in 
seku 


^1 

hher  dst 


i 
hrd-f 


the  stars  which  never         [are]  under     of  his  face, 
diminish  the  seat 


dst   -  f 
his  seats 


D 


LTZD 


pu  dukhemu-urtu 

are    the  stars  which  never  rest, 


per-nef  hetep 

cometh  to  him     an  offerinj 


em 

by 


HYMN   TO   OSIRIS 

1k   I)  °  1  ^ 

Jx  Ji  mil 


1  65 


* 


in  i   i      ^  m  in 

w£?«        ew       Seb  paut     neteru  her      tua  -  f  sbau 

the  order   of       Seb,     the  paut  of  the  gods  praise  him,  the  star  gods 


* 

^ 

AAAAAA 

===== 

es  n 

J^ 

<£? 

I     s 

tiiiit 

em 

sen 

ta 

ichtchati 

of  the  underworld      smell      the  earth  [before      the  boundaries  [of 

him],  earth] 


"^ 


em       feesw 
bow  the  back, 


tcherti 
the  limits  of  heaven 


em  thebhu 

make  supplication 


i   i   i 


7. 


AAAAAA 
I         I         I 


n 


maa-sen  su 

[when]  they  see      him. 


7mm  (iffl  shepsu 

Those  who  are      among      the  holy  ones 


fofa 


i 


/&«r  ner-nef  taui  temt       her  ertd    nef        daiu 

fear  him,      the  two  lands,    all  [of  them]    give    to  him    praises 

•     ifflt 

em     khesefu  hen-f  sahu  khu        khent         sahu 

in     meeting   his  majesty,   the  master   glorious,    chief    of  masters, 


?       J 


uah  dat  smen  heqet         sekhem      nefer 

endowed  with  divine  rank,  stablished  of  dominion.    Form  beautiful 


0 


1 


9 


en  paut  neteru  am  lira  merer 

of     the  company     of  the  gods,      gracious      of  face,      beloved  by 


166  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 

maa-nef  ertd        sent  -f      em        taiu       neb     en 

him  that  seeth  him.     He  putteth  his  fear        in     all  lands,  through 


wierf  £em  &a  -  sen        re%  -  /  er     7&«£ 

love  [of  him]      they  all  proclaim       his  name     before  [every  name]. 


terp    -   nef  nebu         neb  sehhau  em 

Make  offerings  to  him   all  men,    the  lord   who  is  commemorated   in 


*&■ 


=  -    ^   ™m  k   a& 

/?e£  em      ta  ash  hi         em  Uak 

heaven  [and]  in   earth,  [he  is]  greatly  praised    in   the  Uak  festival; 


dru    -   nef         dhhi  an  taui  em      bu      ud  ur 

make  to  him  cries  to  joy  the  two  lands    all  together,  the  great  one, 

|   _    |0^!*_     §\  ^     e  y{ 

tep      en  sennit    -    f  seru       en        jpaut  neteru 

first     of    his  divine  brethren,    prince     of     the  paut     of  the  gods, 

AAAAAA  ^  0    ^  V 


smen 


madt  khet  taui  erta  sa 


stablisher  of  right  and  throughout  the  two  lands,  placer  of  the  son 
truth 

her        nest-f  da      en       at  -  f         Seb      merer         mut  -  f 

upon  his  throne    great    of    his  father     Seb,    darling  of  his  mother 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS  167 

Nut          da          pehpeli         sekher  -f  Sebd          aha  sma  -  / 

Nut,  great  one  of  two-fold  he  casts  down  Seba,  he  hath  slaughtered 
strength, 

hhffft  -/           er^a         sent  -  /  em       Merit  -/        cm 

his  enemy       placing       his  fear  in          his  foe.      Bringer 

trheru                uatu            men  db  retui-f              thest 

of  boundaries      remote,     firm  of  heart,  his  two  feet    are  lifted  up. 


«w<ra  $£&  sutenit         taui  maa-f  khu  -  f 

Heir  of  Seb      and  the   of  the  two  He  hath  seen  his  power, 

sovereignty    lands. 

n   H\    ^\  n      /www  ^vaaaa  r\  ra  , --  ,  pa 

Pl^fl^      ^      V^Jik    1L  =     — Ik a<==: 

sw£/i.  -  we/         we/  se??i  form         en    em      d         er 

he  hath  given   to  him      to  lead  the  lands  by  [his]  hand      to 

command 

<Q>  H—     I  A^AAAA  ■  ,  |— | 

A  □  ©    I  *L=_  I       S     /wwvv 

wa/i  ew        se_p  dri-nef  la  'pen       em  a  -/ 

the  end      of      times.       He  hath  made     this  earth    in       his  hand, 


AAAAAA 


X  /~v  /  in ^ j 

I  I                                 Vsi.  /WW\A  /WW\A  '-* 

wim  -/         we/-/             se??i    -    /  menment     -  /  //>-/>/ 

its  waters,      its  air,  its  green  herbs,  its  cattle  all, 


A/VWV\  \, / 

/WW\A  £2|  C^S>\         ^         I 


1 

pait        nebt     khepanen     uebt        tchetfet  -  /  did  -  / 

[its]  birds    all,     [its]  fishes     all,         its  reptiles,        its  quadrupeds, 


168  HYMN    TO    OSIRIS 

^      n4i  w  i9ii   qq 


se£  smadu      en         sa         Nut  taui  hem    her 

the  desert  is  by  right  to     the  son  of  Nut,  the  two  lands  are  content 


§» 


/www  r\  a        to.      ^       n  aaaa' 


seM«      fter         %es£         e7?i  fe/  md     Ra        uben  -  f 

to  crown    on    the  throne    of    the  father    like    Ra.       He  riseth 
[him] 


cOd  "^^^  jc^.      <wr  D 


—  *     ^^  pf^ 


em         &7m£  erfoz  -/      shep      en  her  leek  sehetch-nef 

on  the  horizon,  he  giveth   light    through  the  darkness,  he  shineth 


/vAAAAA 

o 


sAw  em        shuti-f  bdh-nef  taui      ma         dthen 

with  light  from  his  plumes,  he  floodeth  with  the  two  like  the  Disk 

]ight  lands 

em       £ep  fotaii  hetch-f     tem-nes        hert  sensen 

at  the  early  sunrise.    His  crown  pierceth     heaven,  he  is  a  brother 

s&a%  semi*         e%  %e£er     -?z.e6  menhh  utu 

of  the  star  gods,  the  guide    of    god   every,  operative  by    command 

mek  /im  e?i      £><z%i(  neteru  dat         merer 

and  word,  favoured  one  of  thepaut   of  the  gods   great,    beloved  of 

j?a«£  neteru  netcheset     dri    en        sent  -  f  mdhet  -  f 

thepaut   of  the  gods  little.    Hath  made   his  sister      his  protection, 


seherit 
driving  away 


HYMN   TO   OSI] 

h'    u 

kheru 


169 


sehemt         sep 


r^=% 


foes, 


shet      hheru 
turning  back  evil  hap,    uttering  the  word 


P       1 


A 


\™ 


em  hhu  res  dqert  nes  an         uh 

with    the  power    of  her  mouth,    perfect    of  tongue,    not      erring 


£ 


0 


en        metu        semenlchet         utu  metu        Ast  hhut 

of     speech,    operating  by    decree   and  word   Isis,  the  strong  one, 


netchet  sens  hehet  su        dtet  bekek 

the  avenger    of  her  brother.    She  sought    him   without   weariness, 


15. 


A 


2S 


^> 


J\ 


revet 


ta   pen    em 


hai 


an 


Jchen 


nes 


she  went  round  about  this  earth   in       sorrow,     not     alighted  she 


qemtu   -   s        su  writ         shut        em  shut  -  s 

without         finding  him,   she  made    light      with   her  hair  (or, 

feathers) 


an 


^ 


ra 

0 


em         tenhui 


drit 


M 

hennu 


khepert      -nef 

making  to   wind  with  [her]  wings,  she  made     cries 
become 


AAAAAA        I  V 

mendt 
at  the  bier 


yp  i6-p^  n°M\- 

sen  -  s  setheset  enenu         en  urt    -    db 

of  her  brother.    She  raised  up  [from]  inactivity  the  one  still  of  heart, 


170 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 


®     £$ 

AAAAAA 

AAAAAA 

/WWV\ 

D     ^ 

V\AA/V\ 

*»^«a  "t> 


khenpet         mu  -f  drit  audu  shetet  nekhen 

she  extracted   his  seed,  she  made    the  heir,    she  suckled    the  babe 

em  uaau  tin  rekh  bu  -  f  dm  beset 

in      solitariness,     not     known  is     his  place    wherein    she  reared 


} 


su        a  -  /       nekhtu 

him,  his  hand  is  mighty 


em      /c/2,e?i£       het  Seb         paut 

within     the  house     of  Seb.    The  paut 


1 


^ 


£^- 


sc&     Berw      mew  a& 


neteru    her  resh  sep  sen  iui  Astir 

of  gods  rejoice,  rejoice  at  the  coming  of  Osiris'  son  Horus,  stablished 

of  heart, 

mad  hheru  sa     Ast        auciu         Astir        sehuu  -  nef 

whose  word  is  absolute,  son  oflsis,      heir      of  Osiris.  Gather  to  him 


O 


tchatchat 


madt 


e      1^!       ^  — J^      ^> 

paut     neteru         Neb-er '-teller         tchesef 


princes 


the  sovereign  of  Maat,  the  paut  of  the  [and]  Neb-er-tcher  himself 

gods 

q^P  I8'SfWM 

male  haiu 


nebu 


Madt 


smam 


am  -  s 


[and]  the  lords   of  Maat   assemble    therewith.         Verily  those  who 

repulse 


^> 


0 


J 


tisfet  senetchemu  em        het        ent       Seb 
faults     rejoice      in    the  house  of       Seb 


er        ertdt  tiat 

to      bestow   the  rank 
[of  Osiris] 


HYMN   TO   OSIRIS  171 


1(1(1        "^  — -^  ^  ^S^~  ' 

en       nebs  suteni  en     madts  nef  qemen-tu 

upon  its  lord,  the  sovereignty  of    its  right  [is]  to  him.   Hath  found 


Heru      Icheru-f     man,  ertau  -  nef  dot        ent        tef 

Horus    his  voice    true.     Hath  been  given    the  rank    of    his  father. 

to  him 


l 1    /www  o    *v  ra  ft  -q  n 

¥^  o.{\  is- k       1  —  %*J 

per-nef  mehu  em  utu  en  Seb 

He  hath  come  forth  crowned  by   the  command  of  Seb. 


D     —°   *^  I  \>V  V  .111 

shep  -  nef  heq  taui  ketch  men 

He  hath  received   the  sceptre    of  the  two  the  White  is  established 

lands,  Crown 


/www 


dm  t&p-f  djp-nef  ta  er  hhert-f 

upon     his  head.     He  judgeth     the  earth     according  to     his  plan. 


ffi 


ss 


i      ?-    H\\ 


^ 


pet  ta  Icher  dst  lp°d-f  s-utu-nef         ret 

Heaven  and   are  under   the  seat   of  his  face.    He  comniandeth  men, 
earth 


khu          pat              hamemet  Ta-merd  Ha-nebu 

spirits,  the  dead,  the ,  and  Egypt,  the  lords  of  the  north, 


9  T*  20.  n  s  m     p  ®  !  ^    °^^ 

shentu  dthen  Idler       seJcheru-f  meht  dter 

the  circle  of  the  Disk,  are  under  his  plans,  and  the  north  the  flood, 

wind, 


172  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 


e?MMu  Me£       en       dnhh    ren/pet      nebt       Neprd 

the  celestial  waters,    the  staff  of        life,      herb     every.     Nepra, 


£a-/  sem  -f  neb  tchefau  bes  -f 

he  giveth    his  green  herbs,    the  lord   of  tchefau  food,    he  leadeth  on 


/WW\A 


sesaw  tti  -  f       su       em       tarn  bu      neb        kJient 

abundance,    he  giveth     it        in    [all]  lands.     Everywhere  is  joy. 


V  III       <=Z>    r-rrn  Jd  |  AJ    I    I    i 

afeit        netchem       hatu        kher  reshut        hrd-neb  thehu 

hearts     are  glad,     hearts         rejoice,  every  face      is  happy. 

1*J*~    ?*1    ILL'        II-     T- 

<iifc  bu-neb  her  tua       neferu-f  netchemui         mert  -  / 

Every  place  adoreth   his  beauties.  Doubly  sweet   is  his  love 


I  I  '     /ww\a  try 

J\        — "—  III 


Jcher-n        menlchut-f  rer  -  nes         dbu  ur        mert-f 

to  us,  his  active  goodness    goeth  round   hearts,    great  is   his  love 


^ 


0 


Vr\    /wwv\  •& 

22.          I                                          A/WW\  fev 

I   i   i   i  JSr           I 

em      Jchat  nebt             mad  en            sen             en  sa            Ast 

in     every  body,    and  they  do  what  is  right    to  the  son    of  Isis. 

g5&  Ci    /Q                                                                                          A  -f\ 

-V\V    ^^^                    ^^^                     wwv\                   "^^  * —  -<2=^                Q^Q    v\ 

id=ai _/2Hl                                                                                                   aaaaaa  ZT 

&/&e/£  -  /             Me?"              ew            ye>i  -  /  an              £m 
His  enemy      hath  fallen     before     his  wrath,     the  maker     of  evil 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS  173 


\y  /WW\A  X    __ 

-fi-o  ^  D© 

er  shet  kheru  ut  qen  sep  -  f 

at  the  utterance  of  the  voice,  shooting  forth  his  wrath  in  his  season, 


J] 


sper  eref  sa  Ast  netcht-nef  dt-f 

cometh     unto  him      the  son      of  Isis,     the  avenger  of     his  father. 


I       < >         /T  I        AAAAAA    T)  /'  AAAAAA  I  dJ    I 1 

setcheseru      semsnlchu  ren-f       shefit  hetep-nes      dst      -      s 

Holy  and    beneficent  is     his  name  ;    awe  resteth  in         its  seat, 

/w         mew      er  /&epw    -  /  uat  sesh-thd 

stablished  everywhere  are  his  laws,  the  path     is  opened, 


ra  tk  vx  v 


n  ^ 


mdthennu  un  seherui  taui  duit 

the  roads     are  opened,    content  are  the  two  lands,    wickedness 

^p^P  £\   <=>\\-a    -     krf,     <£. 

shems  a?u  rim  fa  em  /&e£ep        Mer 

departeth,       evil  goeth  away,    the  earth  is  at  peace    beneath 

neb-f  smen  Madt    en  neb  -  s       ertau  sa 

its  lord,     established  is    Maat    by  its  lord,  it  giveth  the  back 

-  qp<r^  I    ?-■  ±J  %:  At  «A 

er  a.s/ef      netchern       db-h        Un-nefer      sa        Ad        sh&p 

to         iniquity.   Glad  is  thy  heart,  Un-nefer,    son    of  Isis,  he  hath 


174  HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 

ne/  /&e£c/i  smadu       nef  dat  ent  tef 

received      the  White      is  his  by  right      the  rank      of     his  father 
Crown, 

em  Ichennu  Het  -  Seb  Bd  tchet-f         Tehuti 

within       the  House  of  Seb,      [he  is]  Ra      [when]  he     Thoth 

speaketh, 


an  -  f  tchatchat  her-thd  utu      en 

[when]  he  writeth.     The  assessors   are  content ;    what  hath  decreed 


nek  dtf-h  Seb  dri-entu  hheft    tchetet-nef 

for  thee     thy  father         Seb      let  be  performed    even  as  he  spake  ; 

suien  td  hetep       Asdr        Khent          Amenti        neb  Abtu 

may  give  a  royal    Osiris,     governor    of  Amenti,    lord    of  Abydos, 
offering 

*-«-       To       T    1    M     *     if 

td  -  f  per  Icheru  dh      apt        shesa        sentra  merhet 

may  he  give  sepulchral  meals,  oxen,  fowl,  bandages,  incense,  wax, 

3— D    26. 


^  III  A  W  |  j 

mat       renpet  neb  dri  kheperu  sekhem 

gifts     of  herbs  of  all  kinds,  the  making  of  transforma-  the  mastery 

tions, 


k  V   n     3k! 


AAAAAA 

-H^p  pert  em         ba         dnhhi         maa        em       dthen 

of  Nile,    appearance     as      a  soul     living,    the  sight     of    the  disk 


HYMN   TO    OSIRIS 


175 


® 


* 


0 


J\ 


ZV 


V.  MAW 

em     Re-stau    an 


A/VVW\ 

shend 


tep  tuait  dq  pert 

at  dawn  daily,  entrance  and  exit  from  Re-stau,  not  being  repulsed 

into  « 


ba  em        Neter-hhert 

the  soul      in    the  Underworld, 


terp    -    tic  -  f 
reception 


27.1 


em 


ma 


MMIk 


ie==a 


I        AAAAAA 

O   III 


hesiu 
the  favoured 


emboli 
before 


Un-nefer  shep  sennu  per 

Un-nefer,      receipt  of  cakes,    coming  forth 


ones 


f=u) 


9 

I 


1 


J] 


AAAAAA 


em-bah  her  hha/ut      eat        neter  da-  sesenet  nef 

before    the  altar       of      the  god     great,  the  snuffing  of  the  wind 


1 

T43!1 

netchem 

meht-s 

sweet 

of  the  north. 

(     176     ) 


CHAPTER     X 


"THE    NAMES    OF    OSIRIS    IN    EVERY    SHRINE 
WHEREIN   HE   DWELLETH" 

(THEBAN    RECENSION,   ABOUT    B.C.   1600) 


1.  Asar  Un-nefer  . 

2.  Asar  Ankhti 

3.  Asar  Neb-ankh 

4.  Asar  Neb-er-tcher 

5 .  Asar  Khenti- 

6.  Asar  Sah  . 

7.  Asar  Saa  . 

8.  Asar  Khenti-peru 

9.  Asar  Em  Resenet 

10.  Asar  Em  Mehenet 

11.  Asar  Nub -heh   . 

12.  Asar  Bati  erpit 

13.  Asar  Ptah-neb-Ankh 

14.  Asar  Khenti  Re-stau 

15.  Asar  Her-ab  semt 

16.  Asar  Em  Ati  (Anetch) 


E>-      /WW\A    U 


aa/w\a 

AAAAAA 


\\ 

/WW\A 


i  * 

2>-      1 

i  ^* 

J)     ^Ift 

jLdlh 

LP^JtU* 


Ldih 


v^ 


J5r 

AAAAAA 

^     \\  | 


kiTVJ- 


oo< 


AAAAAA'     \7 


jLC^' 


L°y 

Ldih 


w     □ 


^  w 

6^  i 


i  i  i 


r^^ 


=FffFF 


NAMES   OF   OSIRIS 


177 


17.  Asar  Em  Sehtet 

18.  Asar  Em  Netchefet 

19.  Asar  Em  Resu  . 

20.  Asar  Em  Pe       . 

21.  Asar  Em  Neteru 

22.  Asar  Em  Sau-kheri 

23.  AsarEmBaket 

24.  Asar  Em  Sunnu 

25.  Asar  Em  Rehenenet 

26.  Asar  Em  Aper  . 

27.  Asar  Qeftennu  . 

28.  Asar  Sekri  Em  Pet-she 

29.  Asar  Khenti  Nut-f    . 

30.  Asar  Em  Pesek-re 

31.  Asar  Em-ast-f-amu-Ta-meh 

32.  Asar  Em  Pet     . 

33.  Asar  Em-ast-f-amu-Re-stau 

34.  Asar  Netchesti  . 

35.  Asar  Smam-ur  . 

36.  Asar  Sekri 

37.  Asar  Heq-tchetta 

38.  Asar  Tua . 

II — N 


AAAAAA      /■ 


1^ 


\< 


k-IW^I 


_M 


A  AA/WAA 


w 


□ 


35      I 


AWVAA  g  ^ 

o  w  n  o  i 

a  f      i 


j 


- 1 


i  °<=>\ 


D   ^ 


w 


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39.  Asar  Em  Ater  . 

40.  Asar  Em  Sek    . 

41.  Asar  Neb-tchetta 

42.  Asar  Athi 

43.  AsarTaiti 

44.  Asar  Em  Re-stau 

45.  Asar  Her-shai-f 

46.  Asar  Khenti-seh-hemt 

47.  Asar  Em  Tau-enenet 

48.  Asar  Em  Netebit 

49.  Asar  Em  Sati    . 

50.  Asar  Em  Beteshu 

51.  Asar  Em  Tepu  . 

52.  Asar  Em  Sau-heri 

53.  Asar  Em  Nepert 

54.  Asar  Em  Shennu 

55.  Asar  Em  Henket 

56.  Asar  Em  Ta-Sekri 

57.  Asar  Em  Shau  . 

58.  Asar  Em  Fat-Heru 

59.  Asar  em  Maati . 

60.  Asar  Em  Hena. 


NAMES    OF   OSIRIS 


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"THE    NAMES    OF    OSIRIS    IN    EVERY    SHRINE 
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1 .  Asar  Un-nefer  . 


2.  Asar  Ankhi 

3.  Asar  Neb  Ankh 

4.  Asar  Neb-er-tcher 

5.  Asar  Ap-  ....  taui 

6.  Asar  Khentet  Un 

7.  Asar  Khentet  Nepra 

8.  Asar  Sah  . 

9.  Asar  Seps-baiu-Annu 

10.  Asar  Khenti-Thenenet 

1 1 .  Asar  Em  Resenet 

12.  Asar  Em  Mehenet     . 

13.  Asar  Neb  Heli  . 

14.  Asar  Sa  Erpeti 

15.  Asar  Ptah  Neb  Ankh 

16.  Asar  Khent  Re-stau  . 

17.  Asar  Heq  taiu  her-ab  Tattu 

18.  Asar  Her-ab  set 

19.  Asar  Ba  sheps  em  Tattu 

20.  Asar  Em  Atet  . 


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180  NAMES   OF   OSIRIS 

22.  Asar  Neb  ta  ankhtet 

23.  Asar  Em  Sau    . 


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24.  Asar  Em  Netchet 

25.  Asar    Em   Resu,    oi 

Tchatchat 

26.  Asar  Em  Pe 

27.  Asar  Em  Tept  . 

28.  Asar  Em  Netra 

29.  Asar  Em  Sau  Khert 

30.  Asar  Em  Sau  hert 

3 1 .  Asar  Em  An-rut-f 

32.  Asar  Em  Bakui 

33.  Asar  Em  Sunnu 

34.  Asar  Em  Renen 

35.  Asar  Em  Aper 

36.  Asar  Em  Qefennu 

37.  Asar  Em  Sekri 

38.  Asar  Em  Petet 

39.  Asar  Em  Het-f  em  Re-stau 

40.  Asar  Em  Nif-ur 

41.  Asar  Em  Netit 

42.  Asar  Khenti  nut-f     . 

43.  Asar  Henti 

44.  Asar  Em  Pekes 


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45.  Asar  Em  het-f  am  ta  reset. 

46.  Asar  Em  het-f  am  ta  meht 

47.  Asar  Em  pet     . 

48.  Asar  Em  ta 

49.  Asar  Em  nest    . 

50.  Asar  Em  Atef-ur 

51.  Asar  Seker  em  shetat 

52.  Asar  heq  tchetta  em  Annu 

53.  Asar  Utet 

54.  Asar  Em  Sektet 

55.  Asar  Em  Rertu-nifu 

56.  Asar  Neb-tchetta 

57.  Asar  Neb-heh 

58.  Asar  Em  Tesher 

59.  Asar  Em  Seshet 

60.  Asar  Em  Uhet-resu 

61.  Asar  Em  Uhet-meht 

62.  Asar  Em  Aat-urt 

63.  Asar  Em  Apert. 

64.  Asar  Em  Shennu 

65.  Asar    Em    Hekennut,    or 

Hesertet 

66.  Asar  Em  Seker 


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67.  Asar  Em  Shau 

68.  Asar  Fa-Heru 

69.  Asar  Em  Uu-Pek 

70.  Asar  Em  Maati 

71.  Asar  Em  Mena 

72.  Asar  Baiu  tef-f 

73.  Asar  Neb  taiu  suten  neteru 

74.  Asar  Em  Bener 

75.  Asar  Em  Tai     . 

76.  Asar  Her  shai-f 

77.  Asar  Khent  sehet  kauit-f 

78.  Asar  Em  Sa 

79.  Asar  Em  Sati    . 

80.  Asar  Em  Asher 

81.  Asar  Em  taui  nebu    . 

82.  Asar  Khent  shet  aa-perti 

83.  Asar  Em  Het  Benbenet 

84.  Asar  Em  Annu 

85.  Asar  Aau  am  Annu 

86.  Asar  Em  Hemak 

87.  Asar  Em  Akesh 

88.  Asar  Em  Pe  Nu 

89.  Asar  Em  Het-aat 

90.  Asar  Neb-Ankh  em  Abtu 


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92. 

93. 

94. 
95. 

96. 

97. 

98. 

99. 

100. 

101. 

102. 

103. 

104. 

105. 

106. 

107. 

108. 

109. 
110. 

111. 
112. 
113. 


NAMES    OF   OS 

Asar  Neb-Tattu 
Asar  Khent  Ka-ast  . 
Asar  Athi  her-ab  Abtu 
Asar  Athi  her-ab  Shetat 


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Asar  Ba  her-ab  Qemt       .      rl  ft  ^^  ^ 

Asar  Aheti 

Asar  Seh 

Asar  Heru-khuti 

Tern  Ka  khapautneteru  aat      " 

Ap-uat  rest  sekhem  taui  .     «.%  ^ 

Ap-uat  meht  sekhem  pet 

Ptah  Tettet  sheps  ast  Ra 

Ua  seqeb  em  Het-Benben 

Seb  erpat  neteru 

Heru-ur . 

Heru-khentet-an-maati 

Heru-sa-Ast    . 

Amsu  (Min)-suten-Heru 
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An-mut-f  ab-perui-urui 
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114. 
115. 
116. 
117. 
118. 
119. 
120. 
121. 
122. 
123. 
124. 
125. 
126. 
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Anpu-khent-neter-seh 

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Meskhen  Aat  . 

130. 

Meskhen  Seqebet 

131. 

Meskhen  Ment  (?) 

132. 

Meskhen  Nefert 

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Amseth   . 

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138. 
139. 
140. 

141. 

142. 
143. 
144. 
145. 
146. 

147. 

148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 
152. 
153. 
154. 

155. 
156. 

157. 
158. 


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Asar  Em  qema-f  nebu 
Asar  Em  ren-f  nebu 
Asar  Em  ker-f  neb 
Asar  Em  khau-f  nebu 
Asar  Em  khakeru-f  nebu 
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(     186     ) 


CHAPTER    XI 

PLUTARCH'S    MYTHOLOGICAL    HISTORY    OF 
ISIS   AND    OSIRIS1 


XII.  "  |^k  j  OW  the  story  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  its  most  significant  and 
^^  "  superfluous  parts  omitted,  is  thus  briefly  related : — 
"  Rhea,  they  say,  having  accompanied  with  Kronos  by  stealth,  was 
"  discovered  by  Helios,  who  hereupon  denounced  a  curse  upon  her, 
"  '  that  she  should  not  be  delivered  in  any  month  or  year.'  Hermes 
"however,  being  likewise  in  love  with  the  same  Goddess,  in 
"  recompence  of  the  favours  which  he  had  received  from  her,  plays 
"  at  tables  with  Selene,  and  wins  from  her  the  seventieth  part  of 
"  each  of  her  illuminations ;  these  several  parts,  making  in  the 
"  whole  five  new  days,  he  afterwards  joined  together,  and  added  to 
"  the  three  hundred  and  sixty,  of  which  the  year  formerly 
"  consisted :  which  days  therefore  are  even  yet  called  by  the 
"  Egyptians  the  '  Epact '  or  '  superadded,'  and  observed  by  them 
"  as  the  birth-days  of  their  Gods.  For  upon  the  first  of  them,  say 
"  they,  was  Osiris  born,  just  at  whose  entrance  into  the  world  a 
"  voice  was  heard,  saying,  *  the  lord  of  all  the  earth  is  born.' 
"  There  are  some  indeed  who  relate  this  circumstance  in  a  different 
"  manner,  as  that  a  certain  person  named  Pamyles,  as  he  was 
"  fetching  water  from  the  temple  of  Jupiter  at  Thebes,  heard  a 
"voice  commanding  him  to  proclaim  aloud,  that  'the  good  and 
"  great  king  Osiris  was  then  born ' ;  and  for  this  reason  Kronos 
"  committed  the  education  of  the  child  to  him,  and  that  in  memory 
"of  this  event  the  Pamylia  were  afterwards  instituted,  a  festival 
"much  resembling  the    Phallephoria  or  Priapeia  of  the   Greeks. 

1   See    S.   Squire,   Plutarch's    Treatise   of  Isis   and    Osiris,    Cambridge,    1744, 
p.  15  ff. 


ISIS   AND   OSIRIS  187 

"  Upon  the  second  of  these  days  Avas  Aroueris  (Apovrjp^)  born ; 
"  whom  some  call  Apollo,  and  others  distinguish  by  the  name  of 
"  the  elder  Orus.1     Upon  the   third,    Typho    [i.e.,   Set  /ikj 

"  came  into  the  world,  being  born  neither  at  the  proper  time,  nor 
"  by  the  right  place,  but  forcing  his  way  through  a  wound  which 
"he  had  made  in  his  mother's  side.  Isis  was  born  on  the  fourth 
"  of  them,  in  the  marshes  of  Egypt ;  as  Nephthys  was  upon  the 
"last,  whom  some  call  Teleute  and  Aphrodite,  and  others  Nike. 
"  Now  as  to  the  fathers  of  these  children,  the  two  first  of  them  are 
"  said  to  have  been  begotten  by  Helios  ;  Isis  by  Hermes  ;  Typho 
"  and  Nephthys  by  Kronos ;  and  accordingly,  the  third  of  these 
"  superadded  days,  because  it  was  looked  upon  as  the  birth-day  of 
"  Typho,  was  regarded  by  the  kings  as  inauspicious,  and  consequently 
"  they  neither  transacted  any  business  in  it,  or  even  suffered  them- 
"  selves  to  take  any  refreshment  until  the  evening.  They  further 
"  add,  that  Typho  married  Nephthys ;  and  that  Isis  and  Osiris, 
"  having  a  mutual  affection,  enjoyed  each  other  in  their  mother's 
"  womb  before  they  were  born,  and  that  from  this  commerce  sprang 
"  Aroueris,  whom  the  Egyptians  likewise  call  the  '  elder  Orus,'  and 
"  the  Greeks  '  Apollo.'  " 

XIII.  "  Osiris,  being  now  become  king  of  Egypt,  applied 
"  himself  towards  civilizing  his  countrymen,  by  turning  them  from 
"  their  former  indigent  and  barbarous  course  of  life  ;  he  moreover 
"  taught  them  how  to  cultivate  and  improve  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ; 
"  he  gave  them  a  body  of  laws  to  regulate  their  conduct  by,  and 
"  instructed  them  in  that  reverence  and  worship,  which  they  were 
"  to  pay  to  the  gods  ;  with  the  same  good  disposition  he  afterwards 
"  travelled  over  the  rest  of  the  world,  inducing  the  people  every- 
u  where  to  submit  to  his  discipline,  not  indeed  compelling  them  by 
"  force  of  arms,  but  persuading  them  to  yield  to  the  strength  of 
"  his  reasons,  which  were  conveyed  to  them  in  the  most  agreeable 
"  manner,  in  hymns  and  songs  accompanied  with  instruments  of 
"  music ;  from  which  last  circumstance,  the  Greeks  conclude  him 
"  to  have  been  the  same  person  with  their  Dionysos  or  Bacchus. 
"  During    Osiris's    absence    from    his    kingdom    Typho    had    no 

1  'Apouiypis  =  HeBU-UB,    V\      -^=f 


188  ISIS   AND   OSIRIS 

"opportunity  of  making  any  innovations  in  the  state,  Isis  being 
"  extremely  vigilant  in  the  government  and  always  upon  her  guard. 
"After  his  return,  however,  having  first  persuaded  seventy-two 
"  other  persons  to  join  with  him  in  the  conspiracy,  together  with  a 
"certain  queen  of  Ethiopia  named  A  so,  who  chanced  to  be  in 
"  Egypt  at  that  time,  he  contrived  a  proper  stratagem  to  execute 
"his  base  designs.  For  having  privily  taken  the  measure  of 
"  Osiris's  body,  he  caused  a  chest  to  be  made  exactly  of  the  same 
"  size  with  it,  as  beautiful  as  might  be,  and  set  off  with  all  the 
"ornaments  of  art.  This  chest  he  brought  into  his  banqueting 
"  room ;  where,  after  it  had  been  much  admired  by  all  who  were 
"  present,  Typho,  as  it  were  in  jest,  promised  to  give  it  to  any  one 
"  of  them,  whose  body  upon  trial  it  might  be  found  to  fit.  Upon 
"  this  the  whole  company,  one  after  another,  go  into  it,  but  as  it 
"  did  not  fit  any  of  them,  last  of  all  Osiris  lays  himself  down  in  it, 
"  upon  which  the  conspirators  immediately  ran  together,  clapped 
"  the  cover  upon  it,  and  then  fastened  it  down  on  the  outside  with 
"nails,  pouring  likewise  melted  lead  over  it.  After  this,  they 
"  carried  it  away  to  the  river  side,  and  conveyed  it  to  the  sea  by 
"  the  Tanaitic  mouth  of  the  Nile  ;  which  for  this  reason  is  still  held 
"  in  the  utmost  abomination  by  the  Egyptians,  and  never  named 
"  by  them  but  with  proper  marks  of  detestation.  These  things,  say 
"  they,  were  thus  executed  upon  the  17th  day  of  the  month  Athyr, 
"  when  the  Sun  was  in  Scorpio,  in  the  28th  year  of  Osiris's  reign ; 
"  though  there  are  others  who  tell  us  that  he  was  no  more  than  28 
"  years  old  at  this  time. 

XIV.  "  The  first  who  knew  the  accident  which  had  befallen 
"  their  king,  were  the  Pans  and  Satyrs  who  inhabited  the  country 
"  about  Chemmis  ;*  and  they  immediately  acquainting  the  people 
"  with  the  news  gave  the  first  occasion  to  the  name  Panic  Terrors, 
"  which  has  ever  since  been  made  use  of  to  signifie  any  sudden 
"  affright  or  amazement  of  a  multitude.  As  to  Isis,  as  soon  as  the 
"  report  reached  her,  she  immediately  cut  off  one  of  the  locks  of 
"  her  hair,  and  put  on  mourning  apparel  upon  the  very  spot  where 

1  I.e.,  Apu,  (I  0    v\  ©,  the  Panopolis  of  the  Greeks;  the  name  Xe'/x/us,  the 
modern  Akhmim,  is  derived  from  the  old  Egyptian  name,         _      "^  ' . 


ISIS   AND   OSIRIS  189 

"  she  then  happened  to  be,  which  accordingly  from  this  accident 
"  has  ever  since  been  called  Coptos,  or  the  City  of  Mourning,  though 
"  some  are  of  opinion  that  this  word  rather  signifies  Deprivation. 
"  After  this  she  wandered  everywhere  about  the  country,  full  of 
"  disquietude  and  perplexity,  in  search  of  the  chest,  enquiring  of 
"  every  person  she  met  with,  even  of  some  children  whom    she 
"  chanced  to  see,  whether  they  knew  what  was  become  of  it.     Now 
"it  so  happened  that  these  children  had  seen  what  Typho's  accom- 
"  plices  had  done  with  the  body,  and  accordingly  acquainted  her  by 
"  what  mouth  of  the  Nile  it  had  been  conveyed  into  the  sea.     For 
"  this  reason  therefore  the  Egyptians  look  upon  children  as  endued 
"  with  a  kind  of  faculty  of  divining,  and  in  consequence  of  this 
"  notion  are  very  curious  in  observing  the  accidental  prattle  which 
"  they  have  with  one  another  whilst  they  are  at  play  (especially  if 
"it  be  a  sacred  place),  forming  omens  and  presages  from  it.     Isis, 
"  during  this  interval,  having  been  informed  that  Osiris,  deceived  by 
"  her  sister  Nephthys  who  was  in  love  with  him,  had  unwittingly 
"  enjoyed  her  instead  of  herself,  as  she  concluded  from  the  melilot 
"  garland  (top  MekikaTivov  o-recfyavov),  which  he  had  left  with  her, 
"  made  it  her  business  to  search   out  the  child,  the  fruit  of  this 
"unlawful  commerce   (for  her  sister,  dreading  the  anger  of  her 
"husband  Typho,  had   exposed  it  as  soon  as  it  was  born),  and 
"  accordingly,  after  much  pains  and   difficulty,  by  means  of  some 
"  dogs  that  conducted  her  to  the  place  where  it  was,  she  found  it 
"and  bred  it  up  ;  so  that  in  process  of  time  it  became  her  constant 
"guard   and    attendant,  and   from   hence    obtained    the   name   of 
"Anubis,  being  thought  to  watch  and  guard  the  Gods,  as  dogs  do 
"  mankind. 

"  At  length  she  receives  more  particular  news  of  the  chest, 
"  that  it  had  been  carried  by  the  Avaves  of  the  sea  to  the  coast  of 
"  Byblos,  and  there  gently  lodged  in  the  branches  of  a  bush  of 
"  Tamarisk,  which  in  a  short  time  had  shot  up  into  a  large  and 
"  beautiful  tree,  growing  round  the  chest  and  enclosing  it  on  every 
"side,  so  that  it  was  not  to  be  seen ;  and  farther  that  the  king  of 
"  the  country,  amazed  at  its  unusual  size,  had  cut  the  tree  down, 
"and  made  that  part  of  the  trunk,  wherein  the  chest  was  concealed, 
"  a  pillar  to  support  the  roof  of  his  house.     These  things,  say  they, 


190  ISIS   AND    OSIRIS 

"  being  made  known  to  Isis  in  an  extraordinary  manner  by  the 
"  report  of  demons,  she  immediately  went  to  Byblos ;  where, 
"  setting  herself  down  by  the  side  of  a  fountain,  she  refused  to 
"  speak  to  anybody,  excepting  only  to  the  queen's  women  who 
"  chanced  to  be  there ;  these  indeed  she  saluted  and  caressed  in 
"the  kindest  manner  possible,  plaiting  their  hair  for  them,  and 
"  transmitting  into  them  part  of  that  wonderfully  grateful  odour, 
"  which  issued  from  her  own  body.  This  raised  a  great  desire  in 
"  the  queen  their  mistress,  to  see  the  stranger,  who  had  this 
"  admirable  faculty  of  transfusing  so  fragrant  a  smell  from  herself 
"  into  the  hair  and  skin  of  other  people.  She  therefore  sent  for 
"  her  to  court,  and  after  a  further  acquaintance  with  her,  made  her 
"nurse  to  one  of  her  sons.  Now  the  name  of  the  king,  who 
"  reigned  at  this  time  at  Byblos,1  was  Melcarthus,  as  that  of  his 
"  queen  was  Astarte,  or  according  to  others,  Saosis,  though  some 
"  call  her  Nemanoun,  which  answers  to  the  Greek  name  of 
"  Athenais. 

XVI.  "  Isis  fed  the  child  by  giving  it  her  finger  to  suck 
"  instead  of  the  breast ;  she  likewise  put  him  every  night  into  the 
"  fire  in  order  to  consume  his  mortal  part,  whilst  transforming 
"  herself  into  a  swallow  she  hovered  round  the  pillar  and  bemoaned 
"  her  sad  fate.  Thus  continued  she  to  do  for  some  time,  till  the 
"  queen,  who  stood  watching  her,  observing  the  child  to  be  all  in  a 
"  flame,  cryed  out,  and  thereby  deprived  him  of  that  immortality, 
"which  would  otherwise  have  been  conferred  upon  him.  The 
"  goddess  upon  this,  discovering  herself,  requested  that  the  pillar 
"  which  supported  the  roof  might  be  given  her  ;  which  she  accord- 
"  ingly  took  down,  and  then  easily  cutting  it  open,  after  she  had 
"  taken  out  what  she  wanted,  she  wrapped  up  the  remainder  of 
"  the  trunk  in  fine  linnen,  and  pouring  perfumed  oil  upon  it, 
"  delivered  it  again  into  the  hands  of  the  king  and  queen  (which 
"  piece  of  wood  is  to  this  day  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Isis,  and 
"  worshipped  by  the  people  of  Byblos).  When  this  was  done  she 
"  threw  herself  upon  the  chest,  making  at  the  same  time  such  a 


1  The  Byblos  really  referred  to  here  is  a  city  in  the  Papyrus  Swamps  of  the 
Delta. 


i 


ISIS   AND   OSIRIS  191 

"  loud  and  terrible  lamentation  over  it,  as  frighted  the  younger  of 
"  the  king's  sons,  who  heard  her,  out  of  his  life.  But  the  elder  of 
"  them  she  took  with  her,  and  set  sail  with  the  chest  for  Egypt ; 
"  and  it  being  now  about  morning,  the  river  Phaedrus  sending 
"  forth  a  rough  and  sharp  air,  she  in  her  anger  dried  up  its 
"  current. 

XVII.  "  No  sooner  was  she  arrived  at  a  desert  place,  where 
"  she  imagined  herself  to  be  alone,  but  she  presently  opened  the 
"  chest,  and  laying  her  face  upon  her  dead  husband's  embraced  his 
"  corpse,  and  wept  bitterly  ;  but  perceiving  that  the  little  boy  had 
"  silently  stolen  behind  her,  and  found  out  the  occasion  of  her 
"  grief,  she  turned  herself  about  on  the  sudden,  and  in  her  anger 
gave  him  so  fierce  and  stern  a  look  that  he  immediately  died  of 
'  the  affright.  Others  indeed  say  that  his  death  did  not  happen  in 
"  this  manner,  but,  as  was  hinted  above,  that  he  fell  into  the  sea, 
"  and  afterwards  received  the  greatest  honours  on  account  of  the 
"  goddess ;  for  that  the  Maneros,  whom  the  Egyptians  so  frequently 
"  call  upon  in  their  banquets,  is  none  other  than  this  very  boy. 
"This  relation  is  again  contradicted  by  such  as  tell  us,  that  the 
"  true  name  of  this  child  was  Palaestinus,  or  Pelusius,  and  that  the 
"  city  of  this  name  was  built  by  the  goddess  in  memory  of  him ; 
"adding  farther,  that  the  Maneros  above  mentioned  is  thus 
"  honoured  by  the  Egyptians  at  their  feasts,  because  he  was  the 
"  first  who  invented  music.  There  are  others  again,  who  affirm 
"  that  Maneros  is  not  the  name  of  any  particular  person,  but  a 
"  mere  customary  form,  and  complimental  manner  of  greeting 
"  made  use  of  by  the  Egyptians  one  towards  another  at  their  more 
"  solemn  feasts  and  banquets,  meaning  no  more  by  it  than  to 
"  wish  '  that  what  they  were  then  about  might  prove  fortunate 
"  and  happy  to  them,'  for  that  this  is  the  true  import  of  the  word. 
"  In  like  manner,  say  they,  the  human  skeleton,  which  at  these 
"  times  of  jollity  is  carried  about  in  a  box,  and  shewn  to  all  the 
"  guests,  is  not  designed,  as  some  imagine,  to  represent  the  par- 
"  ticular  misfortunes  of  Osiris,  but  rather  to  remind  them  of  their 
"  mortality,  and  thereby  to  excite  them  freely  to  make  use  of  and 
"  to  enjoy  the  good  things  which  are  set  before  them,  seeing  they 
"must  quickly  become  such  as  they  there  saw  ;  and  that  this  is 


192  ISIS   AND   OSIRIS 

"  the    true   reason   of   introducing  it  at  their  banquets — but   to 
"proceed  in  the  narration. 

XVIII.  "  Isis  intending  a  visit  to  her  son  Orus,  who  was 
"  brought  up  at  Butos,1  deposited  the  chest  in  the  meanwhile  in  a 
"  remote  and  unfrequented  place ;  Typho  however,  as  he  was  one 
"  night  hunting  in  the  light  of  the  moon,  accidentally  met  with  it ; 
"and  knowing  the  body  which  was  enclosed  in  it,  tore  it  into 
"several  pieces,  14  in  all,  dispersing  them  up  and  down  in  different 
"  parts  of  the  country.  Upon  being  made  acquainted  with  this 
"  event,  Isis  once  more  sets  out  in  search  of  the  scattered  fragments 
"  of  her  husband's  body,  making  use  of  a  boat  made  of  the  reed 
"  Papyrus  in  order  the  more  easily  to  pass  thro'  the  lower  and 
"  fenny  parts  of  the  country — For  which  reason  say  they,  the 
"  crocodile  never  touches  any  persons,  who  sail  in  this  sort  of 
"  vessels,  as  either  fearing  the  anger  of  the  goddess,  or  else  respect- 
"  ing  it  on  account  of  its  having  once  carried  her.  To  this  occasion 
"  therefore  is  to  be  imputed,  that  there  are  so  many  different 
"  sepulchres  of  Osiris  shewn  in  Egypt ;  for  we  are  told,  that 
"  wherever  Isis  met  with  any  of  the  scattered  limbs  of  her  husband, 
"  she  there  buried  it.  There  are  others  however  who  contradict 
"  this  relation,  and  tell  us,  that  this  variety  of  sepulchres  was  owing 
"  rather  to  the  policy  of  the  queen,  who,  instead  of  the  real  body, 
"  as  was  pretended,  presented  these  several  cities  with  the  image 
"  only  of  her  husband  ;  and  that  she  did  this,  not  only  to  render 
"  the  honours,  which  would  by  this  means  be  paid  to  his  memory, 
"  more  extensive,  but  likewise  that  she  might  hereby  elude  the 
"malicious  search  of  Typho;  who,  if  he  got  the  better  of 
"  Orus  in  the  war  wherein  they  were  going  to  be  engaged,  dis- 
"  tracted  by  this  multiplicity  of  Sepulchres,  might  despair  of  being 
"able  to  find  the  true  one — we  are  told  moreover,  that  notwith- 
"  standing  all  her  search,  Isis  was  never  able  to  recover  the  privy- 
"  member  of  Osiris,  which  having  been  thrown  into  the  Nile 
"immediately  upon  its  separation  from  the  rest  of  the  body, 
"had  been  devoured  by  the  Lepidotus,  the  Phagrus,  and  the 
"  Oxyrynchus,    fish   which    of    all    others,    for    this    reason,    the 


1  I.e.,  Per-Uatcliit,  Cr-=1  J  M 


O 


ISIS   AND    OSIRIS  193 

"Egyptians  have  in  more  especial  avoidance.  In  order,  how- 
"  ever,  to  make  some  amends  for  the  loss,  Isis  consecrated  the 
"  Phallus  made  in  imitation  of  it,  and  instituted  a  solemn 
"  festival  to  its  memory,  which  is  even  to  this  day  observed  by  the 
"  Egyptians." 

"After  these  things,  Osiris  returning  from  the  other  world 
"  appeared  to  his  son  Orus,  encouraged  him  to  the  battle,  and  at 
"  the  same  time  instructed  him  in  the  exercise  of  arms.     He  then 
"  asked  him,  '  what  he  thought  the  most  glorious  action  a  man 
"could  perform?'  to  which  Orus  replied,  'to  revenge  the  injuries 
"offered  to  his  father  and  mother.'     He  then  asked  him,  'what 
"  animal  he   thought  most  serviceable  to  a  soldier  ? '  and  beinsr 
"  answered  '  a  horse,'  this  raised  the  wonder  of  Osiris,  so  that  he 
"  further  questioned  him,  'why  he  preferred  a  horse  before  a  lion  ? ' 
" '  because,'    says    Orus,    '  tho'  the   lion   be   the   more  serviceable 
"  creature  to  one  who  stands  in  need  of  help,  yet  is  the  horse  more 
"  useful  in  overtaking  and  cutting  off  a  flying  adversary.'     These 
"  replies  much  rejoiced  Osiris,  as  they  shewed  him  that  his  son 
"  was  sufficiently  prepared  for  his  enemy.     We  are  moreover  told, 
"  that  amongst  the  great  numbers  who  were  continually  deserting 
"  from  Typho's  party  was  h,is  concubine  Thueris,1  and  that  a  serpent 
"  pursuing  her  as  she  was  coming  over  to  Orus,  was  slain  by  his 
"  soldiers — the  memory  of  which  action,  say  they,  is  still  preserved 
"  in  that  cord,  which  is  thrown  into  the  midst  of  their  assemblies, 
"  and  then  chopt  into  pieces — afterwards  it  came  to  a  battle  between 
"  them,  which  lasted  many  days  ;  but  victory  at  length  inclined  to 
"  Orus,  Typho   himself   being  taken   prisoner.     Isis   however,   to 
"  whose  custody  he  was  committed,  was  so  far  from  putting  him  to 
"  death,  that  she  even  loosed  his  bonds  and  set  him  at  liberty. 
u  This   action  of  his  mother  so  extremely  incensed  Orus,  that  he 
"  laid  hands  upon  her,  and  pulled  off  the  ensign  of  royalty  which 
"  she  wore  on  her  head ;    and  instead  thereof  Hermes  clapt  on  an 
"helmet  made  in  the  shape  of  an  oxe's  head.     After  this   Typho 
"  publicly  accused   Orus   of   bastardy  ;    but  by  the  assistance  of 
"  Hermes,  his  legitimacy  was  fully  established  by  the  judgment  of 

1  I.e.,  Ta-urt,  q 
II — 0 


194  ISIS   AND    OSIRIS 

"the  Gods  themselves.  After  this,  there  were  two  other  battles 
"  fought  between  them,  in  both  which  Typho  had  the  worst.  Fur- 
"  thermore,  Isis  is  said  to  have  accompanied  Osiris  after  his  death, 
tTlmd  in  consequence  hereof  to  have  brought  forth  Harpocrates, 
"  who  came  into  the  world  before  his  time,  and  lame  in  his  lower 
"  limbs." 


(     195     ) 


CHAFfER    XII 


ASAR-HAPI,   J^jj/^,  OR   SERAPIS. 

IN  connexion  with  the  history  of  the  god  Osiris  mention  must  be 
made  of  Asar-Hapi  or  Serapis,  a  deity  whose  cult  was  wide- 
spread in  Egypt  under  the  Ptolemies,  and  in  many  provinces  of  the 
Roman  Empire  after  that  country  had  passed  under  the  authority 
of  the  Caesars.  The  second  part  of  the  name,  "  Hapi,"  was  that 
which  was  given  to  the  famous  bull  which  formed  the  object  of 
worship  at  Memphis  very  early  in  the  dynastic  period  of  Egyptian 
history,  and  which  is  commonly  known  as  the  "  Apis  Bull," 
whilst  the  first  part  is,  of  course,  nothing  but  the  name  Osiris  in 
its  Egyptian  form.  The  Greeks  fused  the  names  of  the  two  deities 
together  under  the  form  Zapani*;,  and,  although  the  exact  nature 
of  the  attributes  which  they  assigned  to  Osiris  and  Apis  united  is 
not  quite  clear,  it  seems  tolerably  certain  that  they  regarded  Serapis 
as  the  form  which  Apis  took  after  death.  According  to  the 
hieroglyphic  texts  *  which  were  found  on  stelae  and  other  objects  in 
the   Serapeum  at  Sakkara,  Apis  is  called  "  the  life  of  Osiris,  the 

"lord  of  heaven,  Tern  [with]  his  horns  [in]  his  head,"  8  ^  <^  ■¥■ 

\\     ^zi7  f=q  .  ^-  5?  *^— ,  and   he  is    said   to   "give   life, 

strength,  health,  to  thy  nostrils  for  ever."     Elsewhere  Apis-Osiris 
is  described  as,  "  the  great  god,  Khent  Amentet,  the  lord  of  life  for 

*™>"  JtSViMlil^TfTSl'  «*  as  this 

text  belongs  to  the  period  of  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty,  we  see  that 
even  at  the  beginning  of  the  New  Empire  Apis  and  Osiris  were 

1  See  Mariette,  Le  Serapeum  de  Memphis,  Paris,  1882,  p.  125  ff. ;  Mariette, 
Memoire  sur  cette  Representation  gravee  en  trie  de  quelques  proscyntmes  du  Serapeum, 
Paris,  1856. 


196 


SERAPIS 


joined  together  by  the  priests  of  Memphis,  and  that  the  attributes 
of  Apis  had  been  made  to  assume  a  funereal  character,  and  that  he 
was  at  that  time  recognized  as  a  god  of  the  Underworld.  On  a 
monument  of  the  XlXth  Dynasty,1  Apis  is  said  to  be  "  the  renewed 

life  of  Ptah,"  ^  J  \J 
$  ,  and  in  an  inscrip- 
tion of  the  XXVIth 
Dynasty  he  is  called 
the  "  second  Ptah," 
□ 


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Sepulchral  tablet  with  a  scene  in  which  the  deceased  is 
seen  adoring  Osiris,  Serapis,  and  other  gods. 


D 

the  same  text  we  have  a 

mention  of  the  "  temple 

of     Asar  -  H  api,"      rj  j\ 

tv  rjb    i.e.,    of    Serapis, 

and  we  may  learn  from 
this  fact  that  Apis  had 
been  finally  made  a  god 
of  the  Underworld,  and 
that  his  identity  had  been 
merged  in  that  of  Osiris. 
The  identification  of 
Apis  with  Osiris  was 
easy  enough,  because 
one  of  the  commonest 
names  of  Osiris  was 
"Bull  of  the  West," 
and  the  identification 
once  made  the  shrines 
of  Osiris  were  regarded 
as  the  proper  places  at 


which  the  worship  of  the  double  god  should  be  paid.  Apis  was,  in 
fact,  believed  to  be  animated  by  the  soul  of  Osiris,  and  to  be  Osiris 
incarnate,  and  the  appearance  of  a  new  Apis  was  regarded  as  a  new 


Mariette,  Seraphim,  p.  139. 


2  Ibid.,  p.  198.  i 


SERAPIS  197 

manifestation  of  Osiris  upon  earth  ;  but  he  was  also  an  emanation 
of  Ptah,  and  he  was  even  called  the  "son  of  Ptah,"1  ^  °  §  . 
The  double  god  Asar-Hapi  or  Hapi-Asar,  is  depicted  in  the  form 
of  a  bull,  which  has  the  solar  disk  and  a  uraeus  between  its 
horns.  The  peculiar  marks  on  a  bull  which  indicated  that  he  was 
Apis,  and  the  general  history  of  the  god  will  be  found  in  the 
Chapter  on  "  Animals  sacred  to  the  Gods." 

The  chief  centre  of  the  worship  of  Serapis  in  Ptolemaic  times 
was  Alexandria,  where  it  was  established,  according  to  tradition,  by 
Ptolemy  Soter.  This  great  ruler  of  Egypt  appears  to  have  wished 
to  find  some  god  who  could  be  worshipped  both  by  Greeks  and 
Egyptians  at  a  common  shrine,  and  one  whom  he  could  cause  to  be 
regarded  as  the  characteristic  god  of  his  dynasty  in  Egypt.  The 
most  important  Egyptian  god  at  the  time  was  Osiris,  that  is  to  say 
Osiris- Apis,  the  great  god  of  the  Egyptian  Underworld,  but  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  remove  the  great  sanctuary  of  this  god,  and 
he  therefore  determined  either  to  rebuild  some  ruined  Serapeum  at 
/Uexandria,  or  to  found  a  new  one  wherein  he  might  set  up  a 
statue  which  should  be  worshipped  both  as  the  god  of  the  Egyptian 
Underworld  and  the  Greek  Hades,  and  in  which  would  be  united 
the  attributes  of  Osiris  Khent  Amenti,  and  of  Dis.  Whilst 
Ptolemy  was  meditating  upon  these  or  similar  things  he  had  a 
dream,  wherein  a  colossal  statue  of  some  god  appeared  to  him,  and 
told  him  to  remove  it  from  where  it  was  to  Alexandria  :  according 
to  Plutarch  {Be  Iside  et  Osiride,  §  28),  he  had  never  seen  a 
similar  statue,  and  he  knew  neither  the  place  where  it  stood,  nor  to 
whom  it  belonged.  One  day  he  happened  to  mention  his  dream  to 
Sosibius,  and  described  the  statue  which  he  had  seen,  whereon  this 
man  declared  that  he  had  seen  a  statue  like  it  at  Sinope.  Tradition 
says  that  this  was  Sinope  on  the  Pontus,  and  adds  that  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  were  extremely  unwilling  to  part  with  their 
statue,  it,  of  its  own  accord,  after  waiting  for  three  years,  entered 


ZEZI 


1  In  the  text  of  Pepi  I.  (1.  671)  the  god  Ur-sheps-f,    -^^  I  ^^  j^i 

lied  the  '-beloved,  the  son  of  Ptah,"  *^£.  M   D  |  1 
justified  in  assuming  him  to  be  an  old  form  of  Osiris-Apis. 


is  called  the  "  beloved,  the  son  of  Ptah,"  *^X.  (J  (J        x     (v-\         8  ,  but  we  are  not 


198 


SERAP1S 


into  a  ship  and  arrived  at  Alexandria  safely  after  a  voyage  of  only 
three  days.  When  the  Greeks  came  to  see  the  statue  it  was 
introduced  to  them  as  the  god  Hades,  and  the  Egyptian  priests 
were  ready  to  bestow  upon  him  the  name  Asar-Hapi,  or  Serapis, 
by  which  name  the  Greeks  were,  apparently,  quite  contented  to 
call  him.      Thus  both  the  Greeks  and  Egyptians  in  Alexandria 

acquired  a  god  whom  they  willingly 
worshipped  as  the  god  of  the  Under- 
world. 

As  soon  as  the  god  who  was  now 
called  Serapis  had  been  established  in 
his  new  home,  his  former  worship  and 
rites  were  greatly  modified,  and  his 
services  and  processions  were  made  to 
resemble  those  of  the  Egyptians,  who 
naturally  expected  their  main  features 
to  be  brought  into  harmony  with 
those  of  the  cult  of  Osiris,  their 
national  god.  It  appears  to  have 
been  to  the  interest  of  all  parties  to 
welcome  Serapis,  and  all  must  admire 
the  astute  action  of  Ptolemy,  who 
succeeded  in  making  the  Greeks  think 
that  in  worshipping  this  god  they  were 
adoring  one  of  their  own  native  deities, 
and  who  persuaded  the  Egyptians  that 
they  were  maintaining  the  supremacy 
of  Osiris- Apis  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  Macedonians  were  the  rulers  and 
masters  of  the  country.  Some  doubt 
has  been  cast  upon  the  identification  of 
the  Sinope  mentioned  by  Plutarch  with  the  Sinope  of  Pontus,  but 
with  insufficient  reason.  The  Serapeum  which  Ptolemy  repaired,  or 
founded,  was  probably  near  Raqetit  *  \  ^=>  (1(1  ^,  and  was  a 
very  remarkable  building  ;  its  main  plan  seems  to  have  resembled 
that  of  the  famous  Serapeum  at  Memphis,  but  parts  of  it  were 
richly  painted  and  gilded,  and  it  possessed  a  fine  library  which  was 


Asar-Hapi  (Serapis). 


SERAPIS  199 

said  to  contain  some  300,000  volumes.  The  following  is  Plutarch's 
account  of  the  introduction  of  the  god  of  Sinope  into  Egypt : — 
"  After  this,  say  they,  both  Isis  and  Osiris,  on  account  of  their 
eminent  virtue,  were  translated  from  the  order  of  good  Demons 
to  that  of  Gods,  as  in  after  ages  were  Hercules  and  Bacchus ;  and 
therefore  the  honours  which  are  paid  them  are  very  properly  of 
the  mixed  kind,  such  as  are  due  both  to  Gods  and  Demons,  their 
power  being  very  great,  not  only  upon  earth,  but  in  those  regions 
likewise  which  are  under  the  earth.  For,  say  they,  Osiris  is  none 
other  than  Pluto,  nor  is  Isis  different  from  Proserpine,  as  Arche- 
machus  the  Euboean  asserts,  and  as  appears  likewise  to  have 
been  the  opinion  of  Heraclides  of  Pontus  from  his  declaring  the 
oracle  at  Canopus  to  belong  to  Pluto. 

XXVIII.  "  But  the  following  facts  will  make  this  point  still 
more  evident.  Ptolemy,  surnamed  the  Saviour,  had  a  dream, 
wherein  a  certain  Colossean  statue,  such  as  he  had  never  seen 
before,  appeared  unto  him,  commanding  him  to  remove  it  as  soon 
as  possible  from  the  place  where  it  then  stood  to  Alexandria. 
Upon  this  the  king  was  in  great  perplexity,  as  he  knew  neither 
to  whom  the  statue  belonged  nor  where  to  look  for  it.  Upon  his 
relating  the  vision  to  his  friends,  a  certain  person  named  Sosibius, 
who  had  been  a  great  traveller,  declared  that  he  had  seen  just 
such  a  statue  as  the  king  described  at  Sinope.  Soteles  and 
Dionysius  were  hereupon  immediately  dispatched  in  order  to 
bring  it  away  with  them,  which  they  at  length  accomplished 
though  not  without  much  difficulty,  and  the  manifest  interposi- 
tion of  providence.  Timotheus  the  Interpreter,  and  Manetho,  as 
soon  as  the  statue  was  shown  to  them,  from  the  Cerberus  and 
Dragon  that  accompanied  it,  concluded  that  it  was  designed  to 
represent  Pluto,  and  persuaded  the  king  that  it  was  in  reality 
none  other  than  the  Egyptian  Sarapis ;  for  it  must  be  observed, 
that  the  statue  had  not  this  name  before  it  was  brought  to 
Alexandria,  it  being  given  to  it  afterwards  by  the  Egyptians,  as 
equipollent,  in  their  opinion,  to  its  old  one  of  Pluto.  So  again, 
Avhen  Heraclitus  the  Physiologist  asserts  that  Pluto  and  Bacchus 
are  the  same,  does  not  this  directly  lead  to  the  same  conclusion  ? 
For  as  to  those  who  say  that  by  Pluto  is  here  meant  the  body, 


200  SERAPIS 

"  because  the  soul,  whilst  it  is  in  it,  is  as  it  were  intoxicated  and 
"  beside  itself,  and  that  from  hence  springs  the  relation  between 
"  it  and  Bacchus,  this  is  too  subtle  and  finespun  an  allegory  to 
"  deserve  our  serious  notice.  Heraclitus's  assertion  therefore  may 
"  be  much  more  probably  accounted  for,  by  supposing  the  Bacchus 
"  here  meant  to  be  the  same  as  Osiris,  and  Osiris  again  the  same 
"  as  Sarapis,  this  latter  appellation  having  been  given  him,  upon 
"  his  being  translated  from  the  order  of  Genii  to  that  of  the  Gods, 
"  Sarapis  being  none  other  than  that  common  name  by  which  all 
"  those  are  called,  who  have  thus  changed  their  nature,  as  is  well 
"  known  by  those  who  are  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  Osiris. 

"  Little  regard  therefore  is  to  be  paid  to  those  Phrygian  Tales, 
"  wherein  mention  is  made  of  one  Sarapis,  as  the  daughter  of 
"  Hercules,  and  of  Typho,  as  born  of  Isaeacus  one  of  his  sons  : 
"  nor  does  Phylarchus  better  deserve  our  credit,  when  he  tells  us 
"  that  '  Bacchus  first  brought  two  bullocks  with  him  out  of  India 
"  into  Egypt,  and  that  the  name  of  the  one  was  Apis,  and  that  of 
"  the  other  Osiris,'  adding  moreover,  '  that  Sarapis.  in  the  proper 
"  meaning  of  the  word,  signifies  him  who  disposed  the  Universe 
si  into  its  present  beautiful  order.''  Now  though  this  assertion  of 
"  Phylarchus  be  weak  enough,  yet  it  is  not  quite  so  absurd  as  that 
"  of  those  who  assert,  that  '  Sarapis  is  no  god  at  all,  but  the  mere 
il  denomination  of  the  sepulchral  chest,  wherein  the  body  of  Apis 
"  after  its  death  is  deposited  ; '  much  more  tolerable  than  either  of 
"  the  preceding  is  their  opinion,  who  would  derive  this  name  from 
"  words  which  in  the  Greek  language  import,  '  one  who  first 
"  impelled  and  gave  motion  to  the  universe.''  The  priests  indeed,  at 
"  least  the  greatest  part  of  them,  tell  us,  that  Sarapis  is  none  other 
"  than  the  mere  union  of  Osiris  and  Apis  into  one  word  ;  declarative 
"  as  it  were  of  that  opinion,  which  they  are  perpetually  explaining 
"  and  inculcating,  '  that  the  Apis  ought  ever  to  be  regarded  by  us, 
"  as  a  fair  and  beautiful  image  of  the  soul  of  Osiris.'  For  my  part 
"  I  cannot  but  think,  that  if  this  word  be  of  Egyptian  extraction, 
"  it  ought  to  be  interpreted  so  as  to  express  joy  and  gladness,  seeing 
"  that  festival,  which  we  Grecians  call  Charmosyna,  or  the  feast  of 
"  joy,  is  by  the  Egyptians  expressly  termed  Sarei.  Nor  altogether 
"  disagreeable  to  this  last  notion  of  Sarapis,  is  the  explication  which 


SERAPIS  201 

"  Plato  gives  of  the  corresponding  name  of  Hades  or  Pluto,  stiling 
"  him,  '  the  son  of  cheerfulness,  and  a  kind  and  gentle  Deity  to  all 
"  such  as  come  unto  him.'  There  are  likewise  many  other  words, 
"  which  when  interpreted  into  Greek,  become  entire  sentences ; 
"  such  particularly  is  Amenthes,  or  that  subterraneous  region 
"  whither  they  imagine  the  souls  of  those  who  die  to  go  after  their 
"  decease,  a  name  which  expressly  signifies  in  the  tongue,  the  receiver 
"  and  giver.1  But  whether  this  likewise  be  not  one  of  those  words, 
"  which  were  originally  transplanted  from  Greece  into  Egypt,  we 
"  will  enquire  in  another  place." 

1  The  Egyptian  form  of   the  word  is  9  Amentet,  and  the  name  means 

"  hidden  place." 


(     202     ) 


CHAPTER    XIII 

AST,  j,   OR  jo,   OR  j^,   ISIS 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  fact  that  As,  or  Ast,  i.e.,  Isis, 
is  one  of  the  goddesses  most  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
hieroglyphic  texts,  nothing  is  known  with  certainty  about  the 
attributes  Avhich  were  ascribed  to  her  in  the  earliest  times.  From 
the  fact  that  she  was  regarded  as  the  female  counterpart  of  Osiris 
in  the  dynastic  period,  we  may  assume  that  she  was  also  associated 
with  the  god  in  this  capacity  in  the  predynastic  period,  and 
if  he  was  originally  a  water  spirit  or  a  river-god,  she  must 
have  possessed  the  same  characteristics.  The  name  Ast  has, 
like  Asak,  up  to  the  present  defied  all  explanation,  and  it  is 
clear  from  the  punning  derivations  to  which  the  Egyptians 
themselves  had  recourse,  that  they  knew  no  more  about  the 
meaning  of  her  name  than  we  do.  The  probability  is  that  As,  or 
Ast,  is  a  Libyan  name  originally,  and  that  it  is  to  be  classed  with 
the  names  of  the  other  Libyan  deities,  e.g.,  Net,  Bast,  etc.,  who 
were  worshipped  by  the  predynastic  Egyptians,  and  the  sounds  of 
whose  names  were  expressed  by  hieroglyphic  symbols  as  nearly  as 
possible  when  the  people  of  the  country  borrowed  or  invented  the 
art  of  writing.  The  symbol  of  the  name  of  Isis  in  Egyptian  is  a 
seat,  or  throne,  u,  but  we  have  no  means  of  connecting  it  with  the 
attributes  of  the  goddess  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  a  rational 
explanation  of  her  name,  and  all  the  derivations  hitherto  proposed 
must  be  regarded  as  mere  guesses.  Isis  is  usually  depicted  in  the 
form  of  a  woman  who  wears  on  her  head  a  vulture  head-dress,  and 
holds  in  her  hand  a  papyrus  sceptre.  The  usual  ornament  or 
crown  on  her  head  consists  of  a  pair  of  horns,  between  which  is  a 
solar  disk,  and  this  is  sometimes  surmounted  by  j| ,  the  symbol  of 
the  sound  of  her  name.     Sometimes  she  wears  the  double  crowns 


The   Goddess   ISIS. 


ISIS  203 

of  the  South  and  the  North,  to  the  back  of  which  is  attached  the 
feather  of  Mafit,  and  sometimes  she  wears  with  the  pair  of  horns 
and  the  solar  disk  two  plumes.1  Her  horns  are  usually  those  of 
the  cow  of  Hathor,  or  of  one  of  the  sister  forms  of  this  goddess,  \f , 
but  occasionally 2  she  wears  ^jDaJr^j^j^jn^s^hjojmSj  "^2" ,  under  her 
double  crown ;  since,  however,  Osiris  was  represented  by  the  Ram 
of  Mendes,  and  was  identified  with  Khnemu,  it  is  only  to  be 
expected  that  his  female  counterpart  Isis  should  appear  sometimes 
with  the  horns  which  are  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  the  great 
Ram-god.  Isis,  as  a  woman,  and  not  as  a  goddess,  is  depicted  in 
the  ordinary  head-dress  of  a  woman,  but  even  so  she  has  the 
uraeus  over  her  forehead,  for  the  Egyptians  wished  it  never  to  be 
forgotten  that  she  was  of  divine  origin  ;  of  the  forms  which  she  had 
the  power  to  take  in  her  character  of  the  "  lady  of  words  of 
power  "  mention  will  be  made  further  on. 

An  examination  of  the  texts  of  all  periods  proves  that  Isis 
always  held  in  the  minds  of  the  Egyptians  a  position  which  was 
entirely  different  from  that  of  every  other  goddess,  and  although  it 
is  certain  that  their  views  concerning  her  varied  from  time  to  time, 
and  that  certain  aspects  or  phases  of  the  goddess  were  worshipped 
more  generally  at  one  period  than  at  another,  it  is  correct  to  say 
that  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  dynasties  Isis  was  the  greatest 
goddess  of  Egypt.  Long  before  the  copies  of  the  Pyramid  Texts 
which  we  possess  were  written  the  attributes  of  Isis  were  well- 
defined,  and  even  when  the  priests  of  Heliopolis  assigned  to  her 
the  position  which  she  held  in  the  cycle  of  their  gods  between 
B.C.  4000  and  B.C.  3000  the  duties  which  she  was  thought  to 
perform  in  connexion  with  the  dead  were  clearly  defined,  and  were 
identical  with  those  which  belonged  to  her  in  the  Graeco- Roman 
period.  Isis  was  the  great  and  beneficent  goddess  and  mother, 
whose  influence  and  love  pervaded  all  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the 
abode  of  the  dead,  and  she  was  the  personification  of  the  great 
feminine,  creative  power  which  conceived,  and  brought  forth  every 
living  creature,  and  thing,  from  the  gods  in  heaven,  to  man  on  the 
earth,  and  to  the  insect  on  the  ground ;  what  she  brought  forth 
she  protected,  and  cared  for,  and  fed,  and  nourished,  and  she 
1  See  Lanzone,  Dizlonariv,  pll.  306  ff.  ~  Mil,  pi.  308,  No.  3. 


204  ISIS 

employed  her  life  in  using  her  power  graciously  and  successfully, 
not  only  in  creating  new  beings  but  in  restoring  those  that  were 
dead.  She  was,  besides  these  things,  the  highest  type  of  a  faithful 
and  loving  wife  and  mother,  and  it  was  in  this  capacity  that  the 
Egyptians  honoured  and  worshipped  her  most.  In  the  section  on 
Osiris  a  rendering  of  the  Mythological  History  of  Isis  and  Osiris 
by  Plutarch  has  already  been  given,  but  reference  must  here  be 
made  to  one  or  two  passages  in  it  for  purposes  of  comparison  with 
Egyptian  texts.  According  to  this  document  Osiris  was  slain  by 
the  cunning  of  his  brother  Typhon,  or  Set,  and  the  box  containing 
his  body  was  thrown  into  the  river,  which  carried  it  to  the  sea  ; 
after  long  search  Isis  found  it,  and  set  it,  as  she  thought,  in 
a  safe  hiding  place,  but  it  was  found  by  Typhon,  who  cut  it  up 
into  a  number  of  pieces.  It  is  nowhere  so  stated,  but  it  seems 
that  Isis  was  childless  before  the  death  of  Osiris,  and  both  the 
narrative  of  Plutarch  and  a  passage  in  the  Hymn  to  Osiris  quoted 
above  (p.  150)  agree  in  stating  that,  by  means  of  certain  words  of 
power  which  had  been  given  to  her  by  Thoth  and  which  she  knew 
how  to  use,  she  restored  her  dead  husband  to  life,  and  was  united 
to  him ;  as  the  result  of  this  embrace  she  conceived  her  son  Horns, 
and  in  due  course  brought  him  forth. 

The  incidents  of  her  search  for  the  dead  body  of  Osiris, 
and  of  the  conception  and  birth,  and  rearing  of  her  child  power- 
fully impressed  the  imagination  of  the  Egyptians,  and  hieroglyphic 
literature  is  full  of  allusions  to  them.  In  the  Pyramid  Texts 
the  deceased  is  said  (Unas,  line  181)  "to  breathe  the  breath 
of  Isis,"  and  to  make  his  passage  in  heaven,  with  Isis,  in  the 
Matet  Boat,  i.e.,  the  boat  of  the  rising  sun  (line  293) ;  moreover, 
he  is  declared  to  be  the  very  son  of  Isis  and  of  her  twin 
form  Nephthys.1  In  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  text  of  Teta 
(line  84)  the  deceased  is  introduced  to  the  triad  of  goddesses,  Isis, 
Nephthys,  and  Asbet,  <k\  [>  J  ° ,  as  their  son,  and  elsewhere 
(line  172)  Seb,  the  father  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  is  made  to  speak  of 

■  ii  s  sd  t  s  ^  t  *«  ram  ? 

AAAAAA     *=r^-=r-'         ^  I 


-£> 


Unas,  1.  487. 


TSIS  205 

Isis  and  Nephthys  as  his  "  sisters."  These  things  the  Egyptians 
believed  because  their  ancient  traditions  told  them  of  all  that  Isis 
had  done  for  her  husband  and  child,  and  they  hoped  that  the 
goddess  would  be  present  at  the  celebrations  of  their  funeral  rites, 
and  that  she  would  secure  for  them  a  new  birth.  In  the  illustrated 
Recensions  of  the  Boole,  of  the  Dead  Isis  frequently  appears  both 
as  the  mother  of  Horus,  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Osiris,  and  as 
the  mourning;  widow  of  her  husband.  In  the  vignette  to  the 
clist  Chapter  Isis  kneels  at  the  bier  of  the  deceased,  and  says  to 
him,  "  I  have  come  to  protect  thee  with  the  north  wind  which 
"  cometh  forth  from  Tern;  I  have  strengthened  for  thee  thy  throat; 
"  I  have  caused  thee  to  be  with  the  god ;  and  I  have  placed  all 
"  thine  enemies  under  thy  feet."  This  speech  refers  to  the  air 
which  Isis  produced  by  the  beating  of  her  wings  when  she  restored 
Osiris  to  life  in  order  that  she  might  conceive  an  heir  by  him,  and 
also  to  the  air  which  she  provided  for  her  son  Horus  after  he  had 
been  stung  to  death  by  a  scorpion.  Everywhere  in  the  Booh  of 
the  Dead  Isis  is  regarded  as  a  giver  of  life  and  of  food  to  the  dead, 
and  she  appears  behind  the  god  in  the  shrine  wherein  Osiris  is 
seated  in  the  Judgment  Hall,  and  in  one  of  her  aspects  she  is 
identified  with  one  of  the  two  Maat  goddesses ;  she  may,  in  fact, 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the  dead. 

Now,  the  Book  of  the  Dead  supplies  us  with  many  interesting 
allusions  to  her  relations  with  Osiris,  but  it  says  little  about  her 
devotion  to  her  son  Horus,  whom  she  reared  with  loving  care  that 
he  might  become  the  "  avenger  of  his  father,"  and  we  must  have 
recourse  to  the  texts  which  are  found  inscribed  on  the  "  Metternich 
stele,"1  if  we  would  gain  a  clearer  idea  of  the  troubles  which  Isis 
endured  after  the  death  of  Osiris.  In  one  of  these  the  goddess  is 
made  to  relate  the  narrative  of  her  wanderings  and  sorrows,  and 
she  says,  "  I,  even  I,  am  Isis,  and  I  came  forth  from  the  house 
"wherein  my  brother  Set  had  placed  me."  From  this  it  is  clear 
that  Set  was  not  content  with  murdering  his  brother  Osiris,  but 
that  he  must  needs  shut  up  the  widow  and  her  child  in  some  place 

1  This  stele  was  found  in  Alexandria  in  1828,  and  was  given  to  Prince 
Metternich  by  Muhammad  'AH ;  for  a  facsimile  of  it,  and  renderings  of  the  texts 
upon  it,  see  Golenischeff,  Die  MetternicTistele,  Leipzig,  1877. 


206  ISIS 

of  restraint.  Whilst  Isis  was  thus  confined,  "  Thoth,  the  great 
"  god,  the  prince  of  Law  both  in  heaven  and  upon  the  earth," 
came  to  her  and  said,  "  Come,  0  thou  goddess  Isis,  it  is  good  to  be 
"  obedient,  for  there  is  life  for  him  that  will  follow  the  advice  of 
"  another.  Hide  thou  thy  son  the  child  [Horus],  and  this  is  what 
"  shall  happen :  his  limbs  shall  grow,  and  he  will  become  endowed 
"  with  two-fold  strength,  and  then  he  shall  be  made  to  sit  upon  the 
"  throne  of  his  father,  and  he  shall  avenge  him  and  take  possession 
"  of  the  rank  of  the  prince  of  the  Two  Lands."  Isis  took  the 
advice  of  her  friend  Thoth  and,  she  says,  "  I  came  forth  from  the 
"  house  at  eventide,  and  there  also  came  forth  with  me  Seven 
"  Scorpions,  who  were  to  accompany  me,  and  to  be  my  helpers. 
"  Two  scorpions,  Tefen  and  Befen,  were  behind  me,  two  scorpions, 
"  Mestet  and  Mestetef  were  by  my  side,  and  three  scorpions,  Petet, 
"  Thetet,  and  Maatet,  shewed  me  the  way.  I  cried  out  unto  them 
"  in  a  very  loud  voice,  and  my  speech  entered  into  their  ears  even 
"  as  into  the  ears  of  one  who  knoweth  that  obedience  is  a  thing 
"  which  is  applauded,  and  that  disobedience  is  the  mark  of  the 
"  person  who  is  of  no  account,  and  I  said  unto  them,  '  Let  your 
"faces  be  turned  to  the  ground  that  ye  may  [shew  me]  the  way.' 
"  So  the  leader  of  this  company  brought  me  unto  the  marshes  of 
"  Pa-sui,  the  city  of  the  two  Divine  Sandals,  which  lay  at  the 
"beginning  of  the  Papyrus  Swamps  ((1  cs  ft  "w  Ateh).  When 
"  I  had  arrived  at  Teb  I  came  forth  to  the  habitations  of  the 
"  women  who  belonged  to  the  overlord  of  the  district,  and  the  chief 
"  Avoman  who  had  seen  me  coming  along  shut  her  doors  in  my  face, 
"and  was  angry  with  me  in  her  heart  because  of  those  (i.e.,  the 
"  Seven  Scorpions)  that  were  with  me.  Now  the  scorpions  took 
"  counsel  on  the  matter,  and  they  all  at  one  time  ejected  their 
"  poison  on  the  tip  of  the  tail  of  Tefen  ;  but  as  for  me,  a  poor 
"  fen- woman  opened  her  door  to  me,  and  I  entered  into  her  house. 
"  Meanwhile  the  Scorpion  Tefen  entered  under  the  leaves  of  the 
"  door  of  the  lady  [who  had  shut  her  doors  upon  me],  and  she 
"  stung  her  son,  and  fire  straightway  broke  out  in  the  house  of  the 
"  noble  lady ;  but  there  was  no  water  forthcoming  to  put  it  oat, 
"  and  the  heavens  dropped  down  no  rain  upon  the  house  of  the 
"  noble  lady,  for  it  was  not  the  season  for  rain.     And,  behold,  the 


DC 
< 

D 
< 

LU 
^ 

LU 
C/3 
I 

I- 
< 

I- 

Q- 


ISIS  207 

"heart  of  the  woman  who  had  not  opened  her  doors  to  me  was 
"  sad,  for  she  knew  not  whether  her  son  would  live,  and  although 
"  she  went  round  about  through  her  city  uttering  cries  of  lamenta- 
"  tion  none  came  at  her  call.  But  mine  own  heart  was  sad  for  the 
"  child's  sake,  and  I  wished  to  restore  to  life  him  that  had  com- 
"  mitted  no  fault.  Thereupon  I  cried  out  to  the  noble  lady, 
"  '  Come  to  me.  Come  to  me,  for  my  speech  hath  in  it  the  power 
"  to  protect,  and  it  possesseth  life.  I  am  a  woman  who  is  well- 
"  known  in  her  city,  and  I  can  drive  the  evil  out  of  thy  son  by  one 
"  of  my  utterances,  which  my  father  taught  me,  for  I  was  the 
"  beloved  daughter  of  his  body.' ': 

The  noble  lady  presumably  listened  to  the  words  of  Isis,  who, 
it  seems,  either  went  to  her  house,  or  had  the  dead  child  brought 
into  her  presence,  for  the  narrative  continues,  "  Then  Isis  laid  her 
"  hands  upon  the  child  to  restore  to  life  him  that  was  without 
"  breath  (literally'  him  whose  throat  was  foul'),  and  said, '  0  poison 
"  of  Tefen,  come  forth,  and  appear  on  the  ground  ;  come  not  in, 
"  approach  not !  0  poison  of  Befent,  come  forth,  and  appear  on  the 
"  ground  !  for  I  am  Isis  the  goddess,  and  I  am  the  lady  of  words  of 
"  power,  and  I  know  how  to  work  with  words  of  power,  and  most 
"  mighty  are  [my]  words  !  0  all  ye  reptiles  which  sting,  hearken 
"  unto  me,  and  fall  ye  down  on  the  ground  !  0  poison  of  Mestet? 
"  come  not  hither  !  0  poison  of  Mestetef,  rise  not  up  !  0  poison  of 
"  Petet  and  Thetet,  enter  not  here  !  [0  poison  of]  Maatet,  fall  down !'" 
Next  in  the  narrative  we  have  the  words  of  the  "  Chapter  of  the 
stinging  [of  scorpions]  "  which  "  Isis,  the  goddess  and  great 
enchantress  at  the  head  of  the  gods,"  spake  on  this  occasion,  and  it 
is  said  that  she  learnt  her  method  of  procedure  from  Seb,  who  had 
taught  her  how  to  drive  out  poison.  At  the  dawn  of  day  she 
uttered  the  words,  "  0  poison,  get  thee  back,  turn  away,  begone, 
retreat,"  and  added  " Mer-Ra ;  "  and  at  eventide  she  said,  "The 
Egg  of  the  Goose "  cometh  forth  "  from  the  Sycamore."  Then 
turning  to  the  Seven  Scorpions  she  said,  "  I  speak  to  you,  for  I 
"  am  alone  and  am  in  sorrow  which  is  greater  than  that  of  anyone 
"  in  the  nomes  of  Egypt.  I  am  like  a  man  who  hath  become  old, 
"  and  who  hath  ceased  to  search  after  and  to  look  upon  women  in 
"  their  houses.     Turn  your  faces  down  to  the  ground,  and  find  ye 


208  ISIS 

"  me  straightway  a  way  to  the  swamps  and  to  the  hidden  places  in 
"  Khebet."  x  Following  this  passage  come  the  exclamation,  "  The 
"  child  liveth  and  the  poison  dieth  ;  the  Sun  liveth  and  the  poison 
"  dieth,"  and  then  the  wishes,  "  May  Horus  be  in  good  case  for  his 
"  mother  Isis !  And  may  he  who  shall  find  himself  in  a  similar 
"  state  be  in  good  case  also  !  "  As  the  result  of  the  utterances  of 
Isis  the  fire  in  the  house  of  the  noble  lady  was  extinguished,  and 
"  heaven  was  satisfied  with  the  words  which  the  goddess  Isis  "  had 
spoken.  The  narrative  is  continued  by  Isis  in  these  words  : — 
"  Then  came  the  lady  who  had  shut  her  doors  against  me,  and 
"  took  possession  of  the  house  of  the  fen-woman  because  she  had 
"  opened  the  door  of  her  house  unto  me,  and  because  of  this  the 
"noble  lady  suffered  pain  and  sorrow  during  a  whole  night,  and 
"  she  had  to  bear  [the  thought]  of  her  speech,  and  that  her  son  had 
"  been  stung  because  she  had  closed  the  doors  and  had  not  opened 
"them  to  me."  Following  this  come  the  words,  "0,  the  child 
"liveth,  the  poison  dieth !  Verily,  Horus  shall  be  in  good  case  for 
"  his  mother  Isis  !  Verily,  in  like  manner  shall  he  be  in  good  case 
"  who  shall  find  himself  in  a  similar  position  !  Shall  not  the  bread 
"  of  barley  drive  out  the  poison  and-  make  it  to  return  from  the 
"  limbs  ?  Shall  not  the  flame  of  the  hetchet  plant  drive  out  the  fire 
"  from  the  members  ?  " 

" '  Isis,  Isis,  come  to  thy  child  Horus,  0  thou  whose  mouth  is 
"  wise,  come  to  thy  son : '  thus  cried  out  the  gods  who  were  near 
"  her  after  the  manner  of  one  whom  a  scorpion  hath  stung,  and  like 
"  one  whom  Behat,  whom  the  animal  Antesh  put  to  flight,  hath 
"  wounded.  Then  came  Isis  like  a  woman  who  was  smitten  in  her 
"own  body.  And  she  stretched  out  her  two  arms,  [saying],  I  will 
"  protect  thee,  I  will  protect  thee,  0  my  son  Horus.  Fear  thou  not, 
"  fear  thou  not,  0  son,  my  glorious  one.  No  evil  thing  whatsoever 
"  shall  happen  unto  thee,  for  in  thee  is  the  seed  whereof  things 
"  which  are  to  be  shall  be  created.     Thou  art  the  son  within  the 

i  ^    J  <a>  Khebet,  or  Khebit,   0    J   (1(1  y&^  "Ml,  is,   as   Dr.  Brugscb   has 

shown,  the  Egyptian  original  of  the  Greek  Xe/t/us,  or  X6,u/3is,  an  island  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  city  of  Buto  (Pe  and  Tep),  which,  according  to  Herodotus, 
floated. 


ISIS  209 

"  Mesqet,  who  hast  proceeded  from  Nu,  and  thou  shalt  not  die  by 
"the  flame  of  the  poison.  Thou  art  the  Great  Bennu  who  wast 
"  born  on  the  Incense  Trees  in  the  House  of  the  Great  Prince  in 
"  Heliopolis.  Thou  art  the  brother  of  the  Abtu  Fish,  who  dost 
"  arrange  that  which  is  to  be,  and  who  wast  nursed  bv  the  Cat 
"within  the  House  of  Net.  Beret,  Hat  and  Bes  protect  thy 
"  limbs.  Thine  head  shall  not  fall  before  him  that  is  hostile  to 
"  thee.  The  fire  of  that  which  hath  poisoned  thee  shall  not  have 
"  dominion  over  thy  limbs.  Thou  shalt  not  fail  on  land,  and  thou 
"  shalt  not  be  in  peril  on  the  water.  No  reptile  that  stingeth  shall 
"  have  the  mastery  over  thee,  and  no  lion  shall  crush  thee  or  gain 
"  the  mastery  over  thee.  Thou  art  the  son  of  the  holy  god  and 
"  dost  proceed  from  Seb.  Thou  art  Horus,  and  the  poison  which 
"  is  in  thy  limbs  shall  not  have  the  mastery  over  thee.  And  even 
"  so  shall  it  be  with  him  that  is  under  the  knife.  And  the  four 
"  noble  goddesses  shall  protect  thy  limbs." 

From  the  above  we  see  that  the  gods  informed  Isis  that  her 
son  Horus  had  been  stung  by  a  scorpion,  and  from  what  follows  we 
shall  see  in  what  condition  Isis  found  her  son.  She  says,  "  I,  Isis, 
"  conceived  a  man  child,  and  I  was  heavy  with  Horus.  I,  the 
"  goddess,  bare  Horus,  the  son  of  Isis,  within  a  nest  of  papyrus 
"  plants  (or,  ■  Island  of  Ateh.')  I  rejoiced  over  him  with  exceedingly 
"  great  joy,  for  I  saw  in  him  one  who  would  make  answer  for  his 
"  father.  I  hid  him,  and  I  concealed  him,  for  I  was  afraid  lest  he 
"  should  be  bitten.  Now  I  went  away  to  the  city  of  Am,  and  the 
"  people  thereof  saluted  me  according  to  their  wont,  and  I  passed 
"  the  time  in  seeking  food  and  provision  for  the  boy ;  but  when  I 
"  returned  to  embrace  Horus,  I  found  him,  the  beautiful  one  of 
"  gold,  the  boy,  the  child,  inert  and  helpless.  He  had  bedewed  the 
"  ground  with  the  water  of  his  eye,  and  with  the  foam  of  his  lips ; 
"  his  body  was  motionless,  and  his  heart  was  still,  and  his  muscles 

"moved  not,  and  I  sent  forth  a  cry Then  straightway 

"  the  dwellers  in  the  swamps  came  round  about  me,  and  the  fen 
"  men  came  out  to  me  from  their  houses,  and  they  drew  nigh  to 
"  me  at  my  call,  and  they  themselves  wept  at  the  greatness  of  my 
"misery.  Yet  no  man  there  opened  his  mouth  to  speak  to  me 
"  because  they  all  grieved  for  me  sorely ;  and  no  man  among  them 
ii — p 


210  ISIS 

"  knew  how  to  restore  Horus  to  life.  Then  there  came  unto  me  a 
"  woman  who  was  well  known  in  her  city,  and  she  was  a  lady  at 
"  the  head  of  her  district,  and  she  came  to  me  to  restore  [Horus]  to 
"life.  Her  heart  was  filled  with  her  own  affairs,  according  to 
"  custom,  but  the  child  Horus  remained  motionless  and  moved  not. 
"  The  son  of  the  goddess-mother  had  been  smitten  by  the  evil  of 
"  his  brother.  The  plants  [where  Horus  was]  were  concealed,  and 
"  no  hostile  being  could  find  a  way  into  them. 

"  The  word  of  power  of  Tern,  the  father  of  the  gods,  who  is  in 
"  heaven,  acted  as  the  maker  of  life,  and  Set  had  not  entered  into 
"  this  region,  and  he  could  not  go  round  about  the  city  of  Kheb 
"  (Khemmis) ;  and  Horus  was  safe  from  the  wickedness  of  his 
"  brother.  But  Isis  had  not  hidden  those  who  ministered  unto  him 
"  many  times  each  day,  and  these  said  concerning  him,  '  Horus 
"liveth  for  his  mother;'  they  found  out  where  he  was,  and  a 
"scorpion  stung  him,  and  Aun-ab  (i.e.,  Slayer  of  the  Heart) 
"  stabbed  him." 

Then  "  Isis  placed  her  nose  in  the  mouth  of  Horus  to  learn  if 
"  there  was  any  breath  in  him  that  was  in  his  coffin,  and  she  opened 
"the  wound  of  the  divine  heir,  and  she  found  poison  therein. 
"  Then  she  embraced  him  hurriedly  and  leaped  about  with  him  like 
"  a  fish  when  it  is  placed  over  a  hot  fire,  and  she  said,  '  Horus  is 
"  stung,  0  Ra,  thy  son  is  stung.     Horus,  thy  very  heir,  and  the 

"lord  of  the of  Shu  is  stung.     Horus,  the  child  of  the 

"  Papyrus  Swamps,  the  child  in  Het-ser  is  stung  ;  the  beautiful 
"  Child  of  gold  is  stung,  and  the  Child,  the  Babe,  hath  become  a 
"  thing  of  nothingness.  Horus,  the  son  of  Un-nefer,  is  stung,'  etc. 
"  Then  came  Nephthys  shedding  tears,  and  she  went  about  the 
"  Papyrus  Swamps  uttering  cries  of  grief,  and  the  goddess  Serqet 
"  said,  '  What  is  it  ?  What  is  it  ?  What  hath  happened  to  the 
"  child  Horus  ? ' 

" '  0  Isis,  pray  thou  to  heaven  so  that  the  sailors  of  Ra  may 
"  cease  rowing,  so  that  the  Boat  of  Ra  may  not  depart  from  the 
"  place  where  the  child  Horus  is.'  Then  Isis  sent  forth  a  cry  to 
"heaven,  and  addressed  her  prayer  to  the  Boat  of  Millions  of 
"  Years ;  and  the  Disk  stood  still,  and  moved  not  from  the  place 
"where  he  was.     And   Thoth  came,   and  he  was  provided  with 


MERSEKERT    suckling    HORUS. 


ISIS  211 

"  magical  powers  and  possessed  the  great  power  which  made  [his] 
"  word  to  become  Maat  (i.e.,  Law),  and  he  said :  '  0  Isis,  thou 
"  goddess,  thou  glorious  one,  who  hast  knowledge  how  to  use  thy 
"  mouth,  behold,  no  evil  shall  come  upon  the  child  Horus,  for  his 
"  protection  cometh  from  the  Boat  of  Ra.  I  have  come  this  day  in 
"the  Boat  of  the  Disk  from  the  place  where  it  was  yesterday. 
"When  the  night  cometh  the  light  shall  drive  [it]  away  for  the 
"  healing  of  Horus  for  the  sake  of  his  mother  Isis,  and  every  person 
"  who  is  under  the  knife  [shall  be  healed]  likewise.' '  In  answer  to 
this  speech  Isis  told  Thoth  that  she  was  afraid  he  had  come  too  late, 
but  she  begged  him,  nevertheless,  to  come  to  the  child  and  to  bring 
with  him  his  magical  powers  which  enabled  him  to  give  effect  to 
every  command  which  he  uttered.  Thereupon  Thoth  besought 
Isis  not  to  fear,  and  Nephthys  not  to  weep,  for  said  he,  "I  have 
"  come  from  heaven  in  order  to  save  the  child  for  his  mother,"  and 
he  straightway  spake  the  words  of  power  which  restored  Horus  to 
life,  and  served  to  protect  him  ever  afterwards  in  heaven,  and  in 
earth,  and  in  the  Underworld. 

The  region  where  all  these  things  took  place  was  situated  in 
the  Delta,  and  the  Island  in  the  Papyrus  Swamps,  where  Isis 
brought  forth  her  child  and  hid  him,  was  near  the  famous  double 
city  of  Pe-Tep,  which  was  commonly  called  Buto  by  the  Greeks. 
It  is  impossible  to  assign  a  date  to  the  composition  of  the  story 
briefly  narrated  above,  but  it  is,  no  doubt,  as  old  as  the  legends 
about  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Osiris,  and  it  must  form  an 
integral  portion  of  them,  and  date  from  the  period  when  Libyan 
gods  and  goddesses  were  worshipped  in  the  Delta  and  in  certain 
parts  of  Upper  Egypt  before  the  great  development  of  Sun-worship. 
The  chief  importance  of  the  story  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  makes 
Isis  to  be  both  woman  and  goddess,  just  as  the  story  of  Osiris 
makes  that  deity  to  be  both  god  and  man,  and  it  is  quite  con- 
ceivable that  in  the  predynastic  times  the  sorrows  of  Isis,  like  those 
of  Osiris,  formed  the  subject  of  miracle  plays  which  were  acted 
annually  in  all  the  centres  of  the  worship  of  Isis.  Isis  as  the  faithful 
and  loving  wife,  and  as  the  tender  and  devoted  mother  won  the 
hearts  of  the  Egyptians  in  all  periods  of  their  history,  and  we  can 
only  regret  that  the  narrative  of  the  wanderings  and  sorrows  of  the 


212  ISIS 

goddess  is  not  known  to  us  in  all  its  details.  Her  persecution  by- 
Set  after  her  husband's  death  was  a  favourite  theme  of  ancient 
writers,  who  delighted  in  showing  how  the  goddess  outwitted  her 
terrible  adversary ;  thus  on  one  occasion  she  was  so  hard  pressed 
by  him  that  she  changed  her  body  into  that  of  the  cow-goddess 

Heru-sekha,  V^v    —*-  7  \\  >jra  ?  and  her  son  Horus  into  an  Apis 


Bull,  ^  5fc^  "^  »*  an^  wen*  away  with  him  to  the  Apis  temple, 
^         .  in  order  that  she  might  see  his  father  Osiris,  who  was 

therein. 

Another  great  human  element  in  the  story  of  Isis  which 
appealed  strongly  to  the  Egyptians  was  the  desire  of  the  goddess 
to  be  avenged  on  the  murderer  of  her  husband,  and  it  is  this  which 
is  referred  to  in  the  words  of  Isis,  who  says,  "  I  rejoiced  over  him 
"  with  exceedingly  great  joy,  for  I  saw  in  him  one  who  would  make 
"answer  for  his  father."  The  manner  in  which  Horus  "made 
answer  for  "  and  avenged  his  father  is  told  in  the  Sallier  Papyrus 
(translated  by  Chabas,2)  where  it  is  said  that  Horus  and  Set  fought 
together,  standing  on  their  feet,  first  in  the  forms  of  men  and  next 
in  the  forms  of  two  bears.  For  three  days  and  for  three  nights  the 
fight  between  them  raged,  and  Horus  gained  the  victory  over  Set, 
but  when  Isis  saw  that  Set  was  being  overpowered  her  heart  was 
touched  on  his  account,  and  she  cried  out  and  ordered  the  weapons 
which  her  son  was  wielding  against  her  brother  to  fall  down,  and 
they  did  so,  and  Set  was  released.  When  Horus  saw  that  his 
mother  had  taken  his  adversary's  part  he  raged  at  her  like  a 
panther  of  the  south,  and  she  fled  before  his  wrath ;  a  fierce 
struggle  between  Isis  and  Horus  then  took  place,  and  Horus  cut 
off  his  mother's  head.  Thoth,  by  means  of  his  words  of  power, 
transformed  her  head  into  that  of  a  cow  which  he  attached  to  her 
body  straightway. 

Isis,  >  though  worshipped  all  over  Egypt,  was  specially 
venerated  in  certain  cities,  and  the  following  are  among  the 
commonest  of  her  titles3  : — "  The  great  lady,  the  God-mother,  lady 

1  Bmgsch,  Aeg.  ZeiL,  1879,  p.  19.  •  Le  Calendrier,  p.  28. 

3  See  Lanzone,  Dizionario,  pp.  829,  if. 


The    Goddess    ISIS-SEPT. 


SHRINES   OF   ISIS  213 

"of  Re-a-nefer;  Isis-Nebuut,  jj  ~  ^~|),  lady  of  Sekhet ;  lady 
"  of  Besitet ;  Isis  in  Per  Pakht,  um  tSr  nrzi ;  the  queen   of  Mesen, 

"flf1  —  H%;  Isis  <>f  Ta-at-nehepet,  -^r^^©?  Isis> 
"dweller  in  Netru,  ""j^^b©;  Isis,  lady  of  Hebet,  §^  flfTl; 
"  Isis  in  P-she-Hert,    ~    *~w^  C\      •  Isis,  lady  of  Khebt,  ©    Ua W • 

"  Usert-Isis,  ]  1^  Jj^Jl?  giver  of  life,  lady  of  Abaton,  lady  of 
"  Philae,  lady  of  the  countries  of  the  south,"  etc.  From  a  list  of 
titles  of  the  goddess  collected  by  Dr.  Brugsch,1  it  is  clear  that  Isis 

was  called  Usert,  |  R  <=>  ^ ,  in  Thebes,  Aat,  T^n  J) ,  in  Heliopolis, 
Menkhet,  ^^  ®  A    in  Memphis,  God-mother,  ^  ^  \\  ,  in  Coptos, 

Hert,  *  !  ^^  Pn  '  *n  Letopolis  ;  and  "  Hent,"  i.e.,  "  Queen,"  in 
every  nome  ;2  and  another   important   list  tells  us  that  Isis  was 

*  |\         nit  null  ^  _,     ^_^      ^^ 

called  Ament,  l\  ~*~« ,  in  Thebes,  Menhet,  r^     Vn  >  m  Heliopolis, 

Renpet,    j  °  J) ,    in    Memphis,    Sept,    A     ,    in    Abydos,    Hetet, 

§  C=^3^P,  in  Behutet,  Hurt,  ^^^  A\,  in  Nekhen,  Thenenet, 

s=3l^lj  in  Hermonthis,  Ant,  ffl  ^,  in  Dendera,  Sesheta,     T   , 

in    Hermopolis,    Heqet,    ^  ?,  in    Hibiu,  Uatchit,   TQQ^I/Iij    m 

Hipponus,     Mernekhen,  5  f  i ) ,     in    Herakleopolis,    Renpet, 

3      ,  in  Crocodilopolis,  Neb-tept,  ^z^7   ®  ,  in  Arsinoe,  That, 

s=s  A  <=>  p. ,  or  Tchetut,  °l^J      J) ,  in  Aphroditopolis,  and  Shetat, 

^,  in  Bubastis.  Among  her  general  titles  may  be  mentioned 
those  of  "  the  divine  one,  the  only  one,  the  greatest  of  the  gods 
"  and  goddesses,  the  queen  of  all  gods,  the  female  Ra,  the  female 
"  Horus,  the  eye  of  Ra,  the  crown  of  Ra-Heru,  Sept,  opener  of  the 
"  year,  lady  of  the  New  Year,  maker  of  the  sunrise,  lady  of  heaven, 
"  the  light-giver  of  heaven,  lady  of  the  North  Wind,  queen  of  the 
"  earth,  most  mighty  one,  queen  of  the  South  and  North,  lady  of 
"  the  solid  earth,  lady  of  warmth  and  fire,  benefactress  of  the  Tuat, 

1  Religion,  p.  646.  2  Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  p.  773. 


214  ISIS   THE    SORCERESS 

"  she  who  is  greatly  feared  in  the  Tuat,  the  God-mother,  the  God- 
"  mother  of  Heru-ka-nekht,  the  mother  of  the  Horus  of  gold,  the 
"  lady  of  life,  lady  of  green  crops,  the  green  goddess  (Uatchet), 
"  lady  of  bread,  lady  of  beer,  lady  of  abundance,  lady  of  joy  and 
"  gladness,  lady  of  love,  the  maker  of  kings,  lady  of  the  Great 
"  House,  lady  of  the  House  of  fire,  the  beautiful  goddess,  the  lady 
"  of  words  of  power,  lady  of  the  shuttle,  daughter  of  Seb,  daughter 
"  of  Neb-er-tcher,  the  child  of  Nut,  wife  of  Ra,  wife  of  the  lord 
"  of  the  abyss,  wife  of  the  lord  of  the  Inundation,  the  creatrix  of 
"  the  Nile  flood." 

From  a  number  of  passages  in  the  texts  of  various  periods  we 
learn  that  Isis  possessed  great  skill  in  the  working  of  magic,  and 
several  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  she  employed  it  are  well 
known.  Thus  when  she  wished  to  make  Ra  reveal  to  her  his 
greatest  and  most  secret  name,  she  made  a  venomous  reptile  out  of 
dust  mixed  with  the  spittle  of  the  god,  and  by  uttering  over  it 
certain  words  of  power  she  made  it  to  bite  Ra  as  he  passed.  When 
she  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  god  his  most  hidden  name, 
which  he  only  revealed  because  he  was  on  the  point  of  death,  she 
uttered  words  which  had  the  effect  of  driving  the  poison  out  of  his 
limbs,  and  Ra  recovered.1  Now  Isis  not  only  used  the  words  of 
power,  but  she  also  had  knowledge  of  the  way  in  which  to 
pronounce  them  so  that  the  beings  or  things  to  which  they  were 
addressed  would  be  compelled  to  listen  to  them  and,  having 
listened,  would  be  obliged  to  fulfil  her  behests.  The  Egyptians 
believed  that  if  the  best  effect  was  to  be  produced  by  words  of 
power  they  must  be  uttered  in  a  certain  tone  of  voice,  and  at  a 
certain  rate,  and  at  a  certain  time  of  the  day  or  night,  with  appro- 
priate gestures  or  ceremonies.  In  the  Hymn  to  Osiris,  of  which 
a  rendering  has  already  been  given  (see  p.  150),  it  is  said  that  Isis 
was  well  skilled  in  the  use  of  words  of  power,  and  it  was  by  means 
of  these  that  she  restored  her  husband  to  life,  and  obtained  from 
him  an  heir.  It  is  not  known  what  the  words  were  which  she 
uttered  on  this  occasion,  but  she  appears  to  have  obtained  them 
from  Thoth,   the  "  lord  of  divine  words,"  and  it  was  to  him  that 

1  See  the  translation  of  the  Legend  of  Ra  and  Isis  given  in  vol.  i.,  p.  372  ff. 


The    Goddess    RENNUT. 


ISIS-SEPT 


215 


she  appealed   for  help   to  restore  Horus  to  life  after  he  had  been 
stung  to  death  by  a  scorpion. 

In  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  is  found  a 
Chapter  (No.  clvi.)  which  was  composed  for  the  purpose  of  bestow- 
ing upon  the  deceased  some  of  the  magical  power  of  the  o-oddess. 
The  Chapter  was  intended  to  be  recited  over  an  amulet  called  thet 
I  ^  O »  made  of  carnelian,  which  had  to  be  steeped  in  water  of 
dnkhami  flowers,  and  set  in  a 
sycamore  plinth,  and  if  this 
were  laid  on  the  neck  of  a  dead 
person  it  would  place  him  under 
the  protection  of  the  words  of 
power  of  Isis,  and  he  would 
be  able  to  go  wheresoever  he 
pleased  in  the  Underworld.  The 
words  of  the  Chapter  were  :— 

"Let  the  blood  (™™^ij  of 

"Isis,   and   the  magical  powers 

"  (%*  ®\l\    or    sPirits)    of 
"  Isis,  and  the  words  of  power 

"(if  .,  ')  °f  ^-s^s'  ^e  mi&nty 
"to  protect  and  keep  safely 
"  this  great  god  (i.e.,  the 
"  deceased),  and  to  guard  him 
"  from  him  that  would  do  unto 
"  him  anything  which  he  abomi- 
"  nateth." 

The  symbol  of  Isis  in  the  heavens  was  the  star  Sept,  A*, 
which  was  greatly  beloved  because  its  appearance  marked  not  only 
the  beginning  of  a  new  year,  but  also  announced  the  advance  of 
the  Inundation  of  the  Nile,  which  betokened  renewed  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  the  country.  As  such  Isis  was  regarded  as 
the   companion   of    Osiris,    whose   soul    dwelt   in   the    star    Sah, 

|q]  ^^  ?  li  *  jjj,  i.e.,  Orion,  and  she  was  held  to  have  brought 


Rennufr,  lady  of  Aat. 


216  FORMS   OF   ISIS 

about  the  destruction  of  the  fiend  Apep,  ^  Wi,  and  of  his  hosts 
of  darkness  by  means  of  the  might  of  her  words  of  power.  As  the 
light-giver  at  this  season  of  the  year  she  was  called  Khut, 
®  J|  ^  J) ,    as   the   mighty   earth-goddess    her    name   was   Usert, 

1 P  ^^  $ '  as  the  Great  Goddess  of  the  Underworld  she  was 
Thenenet,  e^^,  as  the  power  which  shot  forth  the  Nile 
flood  she  was  Sati,  ^  J,  and  Sept,  as  the  embracer  of  the  land 
and  producer  of  fertility  by  her  waters  she  was  Anqet,  ^  ^  $  > 

_  Q      /WW\A  ff\ 

as  the  producer  and  giver  of  life  she  was  Ankhet,  ^  m  q  ^  ^ ,  as 
the  goddess  of  cultivated  lands  and  fields  she  was  Sekhet,  y  J^  || , 
as  the  goddess  of  the  harvest  she  was  Renenet,  ^^  ^  11 ,  as  the 

°  /www  VJ   vU  V. 

goddess  of  food  which  was  offered  to  the  gods  she  was  Tcheft,  w|  ^J , 
and  lived  in  the  Temple  of  Tchefau,  Q^  ^T|'^(^'  and  as 
the  great  lady  of  the  Underworld,  who  assisted  in  transforming  the 
bodies  of  the  blessed  dead  into  those  wherein  they  were  to  live  in 

the  realm  of  Osiris,   her  name  was  Ament,   (J         ^  J) ,   i.e.,  the 

1    A/WW\    \J    ill 

"  hidden "  goddess.     In  this  last  capacity  she  shared  with  Osiris 

the  attribute  of  "  giver  of  life,"  and  she  provided  food  for  the  dead 

as  well  as  for  the  living ;  as  Ament  also  she  was  declared  to  be  the 

mother  of  Ra.    In  fact,  at  a  comparatively  early  period  in  Egyptian 

history  Isis  had  absorbed  the  attributes  of  all  the  great  primitive 

goddesses,  and  of  all  the  local  goddesses  such  as  Nekhebet,  Uatchet, 

Net,  Bast,  Hathor,  etc.,  and  she  was  even  identified  as  the  female 

counterpart  of  the  primeval  abyss  of  water  from  which  sprang  all 

life.     From  what  has  been  said  above  it  is  manifestly  impossible  to 

limit  the  attributes  of  Isis,  for  we  have  seen  that  she  possesses  the 

powers  of  a  water  goddess,  an  earth  goddess,  a  corn  goddess,  a 

star  goddess,  a  queen  of  the  Underworld,  and  a  woman,  and  that 

she  united  in  herself  one   or   more  of  the    attributes  of  all  the 

goddesses  of  Egypt  known  to  us. 

From  the  works  of  classical  writers  we  know  that  her  worship 
spread  from  Egypt  into  several  places  in   Western  Europe,  and 


WORSHIP   OF   ISIS  217 

she  was  identified  with  Persephone,  Tethys,  Athene,  etc.,  just  as 
Osiris  was  identified  with  Hades  or  Pluto,  Dionysos-Bacchus,  and 
other  foreign  gods.  According  to  Herr  August  Mau,1  various 
causes  contributed  to  the  rapid  extension  of  the  cult  of  Isis  and 
Serapis.  "  The  worship  of  Isis,  associated  with  Mysteries  from  an 
"  early  period,  was  reorganized  by  the  first  Ptolemy  with  the  help 
"  of  Manetho  an  Egyptian  priest,  and  Timotheus,  a  Greek  skilled 
"in  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries  ....  It  had  the  charm  of  some- 
"  thing  foreign  and  full  of  mystery.  Its  doctrine,  supported  by 
"  the  prestige  of  immemorial  antiquity,  successfully  opposed  the 
"  mutually  destructive  opinions  of  the  philosophers,  while  at  the 
"  same  time  its  conception  of  deity  was  by  no  means  inconsistent 
"  with  philosophic  thought ;  and  it  brought  to  the  initiated  that 
"  expectation  of  a  future  life  to  which  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries 
"owed  their  attractive  power.  The  ascetic  side  of  the  worship 
"  too,  with  its  fastings  and  abstinence  from  the  pleasures  of  sense, 
"  that  the  soul  might  lose  itself  in  the  mystical  contemplation  of 
"  deity,  had  a  fascination  for  natures  that  were  religiously  suscep- 
"  tible  ;  and  the  celebration  of  the  Mysteries,  the  representation  of 
"  the  myth  of  Isis  in  pantomime  with  a  musical  accompaniment, 
"  appealed  powerfully  to  the  imagination."  A  college  of  the 
servants  of  Isis,  who  were  called  Pastophori,  was  founded  in  Rome 
in  the  time  of  Sulla,  about  B.C.  80  (Apuleius,  Met.  xi.),  but  after  a 
very  few  years  the  worship  of  Isis  was  proscribed  by  the  authorities, 
and  the  temples  of  the  goddess  were  pulled  down  in  the  years 
58,  53,  50,  and  48.  In  B.C.  43,  however,  the  triumvirs,  seeing 
that  it  was  the  only  way  to  win  the  affections  of  the  people,  built 
temples  in  honour  of  Isis  and  Serapis,  and  publicly  sanctioned 
their  worship,  and  in  a  short  time  several  temples  of  these  gods 
were  in  existence  outside  the  city ;  all  these  were  under  the 
control  of  the  Government,  which  had  frequently  to  be  exercised 
in  a  vigorous  fashion  on  account  of  the  orgies  and  debaucheries 
which  took  place  in  connexion  with  the  celebration  of  the  festivals 
of  Isis.  From  the  time  of  Vespasian,  however,  the  worship  of  Isis 
and  Serapis  grew  and  flourished  until  the  general  introduction  of 

1  Pompeii,  its  Life  and  Art,  London,  1899,  p.  162. 


218  ISIS    IN   ROME 

Christianity,  and  the  festival  of  these  gods  was  recognized  in  the 
public  Calendar. 

The  chief  temple  of  Isis  in  Rome  stood  in  the  Campus  Martius, 
where  the  goddess  was  called  "Isis  Campensis";  and  an  inscription 
of  the  year  105  B.C.  found  at  Puteoli  proves  that  a  temple  of 
Serapis  was  then  standing  in  that  city.1  The  important  temple  of 
Isis  at  Pompeii  appears  to  have  been  built  soon  after  this  date, 
and  an  inscription  over  the  door  states  that  it  was  rebuilt  by 
Numerius  Popidius  Celsinus  after  the  earthquake  (that  of  the 
year  63).  It  has  architecturally  nothing  suggestive  of  the  Egyp- 
tian style,  yet  the  plan  presents  a  marked  deviation  from  ordinary 
types.  In  his  Eleventh  Book  Apuleius  gives  a  very  interesting 
description  of  the  manner  in  which  Isis  was  worshipped  in  Rome  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  second  century  a.d.,  and  adds  some  curious 
details  about  the  attributes  of  the  goddess  herself.  Thus  in  his  prayer 
to  her  he  calls  her  "queen  of  heaven,"  regina  coeli,2  and  he  identifies 
her  with  Ceres,  and  Venus,  and  Proserpine,  and  refers  to  her  in 
her  capacity  as  goddess  of  wheat  and  crops.  At  daybreak  on  the 
day  of  the  festival  of  the  goddess  the  priest  went  into  her  temple, 
and  threw  open  the  doors,  leaving  nothing  but  white  linen  curtains 
across  the  doorway  to  screen  the  interior.  When  the  courts  were 
filled  with  people,  these  curtains  were  drawn,  and  the  worshippers 
were  permitted  to  gaze  upon  the  image  of  the  goddess ;  to  it  at 
once  the  people  began  to  pray,  and  the  women  rattled  their  sistra, 
and  the  prayers  were  followed  by  an  interval,  during  which  the 
devout  crowd  engaged  in  silent  prayer  and  contemplation  of  the 
goddess.  About  one  hour  after  daybreak,  i.e.,  when  the  sun  had 
risen,  the  multitude  sang  a  hymn  to  the  newly  risen  god,  and  then 
departed  to  their  homes.  In  the  afternoon  another  service  was 
held,  at  which  sistra  were  shaken,  and  sacrifices  were  offered  up, 
and  incense  was  burnt,  and  an  elaborate  ceremony  in  connexion 
with  the  use  of  a  vessel  of  holy  Nile  water  was  performed. 

The  holiest  of  all  the  sanctuaries  of  Isis  known  to  the  Greeks 
was  that  at  Tithorea,  and  Pausanias  tells  us3  that  festivals  were 


"^37  D   <=> 
1  Mau,  op.  cit.,  p.  163.  2  The  Egyptian 

3  Book  x.,  chap,  xxxii.,  §  9  (J.  G.  Frazer's  translation). 


ISIS    IN   TITHOREA  219 

held  there  in  honour  of  the  goddess  twice  a  year,  one  in  sprino- 
and  one  in  autumn.     He  says,  "  Two  days  before  each  festival  the 
"  persons  who  are  free  to  enter  the  shrine  clean  it  out  in  a  certain 
"  secret  way  ;   and  whatever  remains  they  find  of  the  sacrificial 
"  victims  which  were  cast  in  at  the  previous  festival,  they  always 
"  carry  them  to  the  same  spot  and  bury  them  there.     The  distance 
"  of  this  spot  from  the  shrine  we  judged  to  be  two  furlongs.     That 
"  is  what  they  do  to  the  sanctuary  on  this  day.     On  the  next  day 
"  the    hucksters    set   up    booths    of   reeds   and    other   improvised 
"  material ;  and  on  the  last  of  the  three  days  they  hold  a  fair  for 
"  the  sale  of  slaves  and  all  kinds  of  cattle,  also  garments,  and  silver 
"  and  gold.     After  noon   they   betake   themselves   to   sacrificing. 
"  The   richer   people    sacrifice    oxen    and    deer,    the    poorer   folk 
"  sacrifice  geese  and  guinea  fowl.     But  it  is  against  the  custom  to 
",use  swine,  sheep,  and  goats  for  this  sacrifice.     Those  whose  (duty 
"  it  is)  to  burn  the  victims,  and  bring  them  into  the  shrine  .... 
"  must  wrap  the  victims  in  bandages  of  linen,  either  common  linen 
"  or  fine  linen ;  the  mode  of  dressing  them  is  the  Egyptian.     All 
"  the  animals  sacrificed   are  led  in  procession ;   some  convey  the 
"  victims  into  the  shrine,  others  burn  the  booths  in  front  of  it  and 
"  depart  in  haste.    They  say  that  once  upon  a  time,  when  the  pyre 
"  began  to  burn,  a  profane  fellow  who  had  no  right  to  go  down 
"  into  the  shrine  rashly  entered  it  out  of  curiosity.     The  whole 
"  place   seemed  to   him   full   of  spectres ;    and    scarcely   had   he 
"  returned  to  Tithorea  and  told  what  he  had  beheld  when  he  gave 
"  up  the  ghost.     I  have  heard  a  like  story  from  a  Phoenician  man. 
"  He  said  that  the  Egyptians  hold  the  festival  of  Isis  at  the  time 
"  when  they  say  she  is  mourning  for  Osiris.     At  that  time  the  Nile 
"  begins  to  rise,  and  it  is  a  common  saying  among  the  natives  that 
"it  is  the  tears  of  Isis  that  cause  the  river  to  rise  and  water  the 
"  fields.     Well,  then,  my  informant  said  that  at  that  season  the 
"  Roman  governor  of  Egypt  bribed  a  man  to  go  down  to  the 
"  shrine  of  Isis  at  Coptos.    The  man  who  was  thus  sent  in  returned 
"  from  the  shrine ;  but  after  he  had  told  us  all  that  he  had  beheld, 
"  he,  too,  I  was  informed,  immediately  expired.     Thus  it  appears  to 
"  be  a  true  saying  of  Homer's  that  it  is  ill  for  mankind  to  see  the 
"  gods  in  bodily  shape." 


220  ISIS   AND   THE    VIRGIN   MARY 

Among  the  various  peoples  by  whom  Isis  is  venerated  must 
be  mentioned  those  of  Syria,  who  identified  her  with  certain  of 
their  local  goddesses,  and  it  is  clear  that  the  early  Christians 
bestowed  some  of  her  attributes  upon  the  Virgin  Mary.  There 
is  little  doubt  that  in  her  character  of  the  loving  and  protecting 
mother  she  appealed  strongly  to  the  imagination  of  all  the  Eastern 
peoples  among  whom  her  cult  came,  and  that  the  pictures  and 
sculptures  wherein  she  is  represented  in  the  act  of  suckling  her 
child  Horus  formed  the  foundation  for  the  Christian  figures  and 
paintings  of  the  Madonna  and  Child.  Several  of  the  incidents  of 
the  wanderings  of  the  Virgin  with  the  Child  in  Egypt  as  recorded  in 
the  Apocryphal  Gospels  reflect  scenes  in  the  life  of  Isis  as  described 
in  the  texts  found  on  the  Metternich  Stele,  and  many  of  the 
attributes  of  Isis,  the  God-mother,  the  mother  of  Horus,  and  of 
Neith,  the  goddess  of  Sais,  are  identical  with  those  of  Mary  the 
Mother  of  Christ.  The  writers  of  the  Apocryphal  Gospels  intended 
to  pay  additional  honour  to  Mary  the  Virgin  by  ascribing  to  her 
the  attributes  which  up  to  the  time  of  the  advent  of  Christianity 
they  had  regarded  as  the  peculiar  property  of  Isis  and  Neith  and 
other  great  indigenous  goddesses,  and  if  the  parallels  between  the 
mythological  history  of  Isis  and  Horus  and  the  history  of  Mary 
and  the  Child  be  considered,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  they  could 
possibly  avoid  perceiving  in  the  teaching  of  Christianity  reflections 
of  the  best  and  most  spiritual  doctrines  of  the  Egyptian  religion. 
The  doctrine  of  partheno-genesis  was  well  known  in  Egypt  in 
connexion  with  the  goddess  Neith  of  Sais  centuries  before  the 
birth  of  Christ ;  and  the  belief  in  the  conception  of  Horus  by  Isis 
through  the  power  given  her  by  Thoth,  the  Intelligence  or  Mind 
of  the  God  of  the  universe,  and  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
and  of  everlasting  life,  is  coeval  with  the  beginnings  of  history 
in  Egypt.  We  may  note  too  in  passing  the  probability  that  many 
of  the  heresies  of  the  early  Christian  Church  in  Egypt  were  caused 
by  the  survival  of  ideas  and  beliefs  connected  with  the  old  native 
gods  which  the  converts  to  Christianity  wished  to  adapt  to  their 
new  creed.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  the  knowledge  of  the 
ancient  Egyptian  religion  which  we  now  possess  fully  justifies  the 
assertions  that  the  rapid  growth  and  progress  of  Christianity  in 


I 


The    Goddess    MENQET 


ISIS   AND   THE    VIRGIN   MARY  221 

Egypt  were  due  mainly  to  the  fact  that  the  new  religion,  which 
was  preached  there  by  Saint  Mark  and  his  immediate  followers,  in 
all  its  essentials  so  closely  resembled  that  which  was  the  outcome 
of  the  worship  of  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horus  that  popular  opposition  was 
entirely  disarmed.  In  certain  places  in  the  south  of  Egypt,  e.g., 
Philae,  the  worship  of  Osiris  and  Isis  maintained  its  own  until  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century  of  our  era,  though  this  was  in  reality 
due  to  the  support  which  it  received  from  the  Nubians,  but 
speaking  generally,  at  this  period  in  all  other  parts  of  Egypt  Mary 
the  Virgin  and  Christ  had  taken  the^'places  of  Isis  and  Horus,  and  the 
"  God-mother,"  or  "  mother  of  the  god,"  V\ ,  was  no  longer  Isis, 
but  Mary  whom  the  Monophysites  styled  ©eoro/co?. 


(     222     ) 


CHAPTER    XIV 
THE   SORROWS   OF   ISIS1 


48.     Q 


nuk      Ast 
I  am     Isis. 


M 


per-hud 
I  came  forth 


em  wa  d£ 

from      the  house 


ertd-nud 
placed  me 


& 


1 


send-d  Set       er-s        as         tchet-nd     Tehuti  ur 

my  brother       Set      in  it.  Behold,  said  to  me  Thoth,  the  great  one, 


i     i 


her  tep  Madt       em        pet  ta 

chief   of  Maat     in      heaven    and  earth, 


\1 

madt 
Come, 


J 


i:    J 


a\ 


netert 


□ 


^ 


nefer 


hher  pu  setem 


dnkh 


ua 


thou      Isis, 
sems 


goddess,  good  (it  is)  to  possess  obedience ;  life  (is  to  the)  one  (who  is) 

led 


S 


hi 
(by)  another. 

A 


*8                  m  V  •    so. 

,£3                    <^>  — £j  /www 

seteka                 ert  hher  sa  nelchen 

Hide  thyself  with  the  son  child, 


m  -  /  enen  hdu-f  rut  pehpeh-f  neb 

will  happen     these  things,     his  limbs     (will)  grow,     he  will  grow 

strong  wholly, 

1  See  Golenischeff,  Die  Metternicltstele,  Leipzig,  1877,  pi.  3,  1.  48,  ff. 


SORROWS   OF   ISIS  223 

—       9            S              *      ^  T° 

U       o      q   U                                                                       K-«=_  I     ^    g — 

Mep  tat  hetep-f       her            7iest                tef  -  f  netchet-nef 

and  he  shall  be      upon     the  throne     of  his  father,  he  will  obtain 
made  to  rest 

«                      ?                    =^=                LTZD   ^zz*         <§>  ^     r  a, 

dat              heq              taui             per-hid        her  trdt         en 

the  dignity   of  prince   of  the  two   I  came  forth    at  the  season    of 

lands." 


mesher        pert  matet  vii.  Me?*i  /i<7£-(i         mad-sen 

evening,    and  came    seven  scorpions  before  me,    they  continued 
forth 

AJL  — — — LI  /wsaaa  ^£J    /www.  ti       \  J 

Tia      «  jTe/<m  Befen  ha-d        sep  sen      Mestet 

with  me  at   Tefen  and   Befen  were   behind  me,    twice,  Mestet  and 
my  side. 


-  j>^a  a«p    r:^    °>3P 

Mestetef        kher  mdt-d         Petet  Thetet  Mnatet 

Mestetef  were      near  me,      and  Petet,      and  Thetet,     and  Maatet 

her  tcheser-nd         uat  hen-d  en        sen         ur  sep  sen 

showed  to  me    the  way.     I  cried  out       to      them    loudly,  loudly, 

\M  K^  k  f»rr,  k    T     ^k 

met-d        sehhep      em       diikhui-sen       em  rehh  setem 

my  word    entered    into      their  ears,      as  in  (those  of)  a  obedience 

wise  man : 


\^1 


□o 


ushet  tesher  em  sa  sa 

is  praiseworthy,       disobedience       (is)  as       the  mark       of  the  son 


224 


SORROAVS    OF   ISIS 


-)  AAAAAA 

sa  er  netches 


■*■  AAAAAA 

I  I         I         I 

lira-then 


m 


i 


em   kher      her 


%2 

uat 


of  a  man  of  low  estate,     "  Let  your       bent  down        on     the  way." 

faces  be 


^ 


8^8  — 


J&  53. 


i  i 


1! 


ot  sem  heh-nud         er 

The  leader  of  the  brought  me     to 
company 


nut 


ent 


o 


2%eZrf 


pe/i  %  (sic) 
the  swamps 

— g) 

o     I 

hat 


Pasui 
of  Pasui, 


a£ 


the  city     of  the      two  Sandal-      at  the  beginning     of  the  Papyrus 
goddesses  Swamps. 


peh-iu 


■J' 


sjoer-nd 


&. 


/&em 


ketut 


Having  arrived  at       Teb      I  came  forth  to  the  houses  of  the  women 


1* 


.^s^- 


f] 


hai  an  teka    -    nud  shejps  em         ua 

of  the  governor.        Had  seen  me        the  chief  woman  on  the  march, 


r  54.  ^    inmnr  n 


i  i 

ddm-s 


her-d 


■"""""l    ^g, 


AAAAAA    M- 


©    (f^l  AAAAAA 

an-nes  aaiu-s  lier-a  mens  her-dh         en 

she  closed     her  doors    upon  me,    she  was  angry     in  her  heart     at 


id    T 


$ 


ewie£  er    hen-d        netchsen  re       hers  ertdsen 

those  who   were  with  me.    They  decreed   about  it    (and)  they  placed 


j^> 


,«.  jj\      J"1  AAAAAA 

1  III 


D 


§» 


®        1 


iihiiiii 


i 


metusen  en  sep        her  tep     set        en      Tefen        un-nd 

their  poison    all  at  one  time    on    the  tail     of     Tefen.    Opened  to 


me 


SORROWS   OF   ISIS 


225 


SM5    hM  V 


(1     55.   [[)" 


A  CTZD 

-  a  •=*        I   I1    "■  LI'J  %* 

tah  sba-s  dq-tu  er  pas  senen 

a  poor  woman  her  door,  (I)  entered  into  her  house.       Cunningly 


3$P 


m 


A   Q  <==> 

Tefen       dqet       Icher        aaiu         en 

Tefen    entered  under  the  leaves     of      the  door, 


mnri 

ddiiL 


hi 

sba 


^J 


"^ 


tcheteb-nes 
smote  she 


0 


1P 


T 


cru 


1 


o              Q  o    (2                                                       |  q 

sa              usert  Ichet  pertu  em        pa                usert 

the  son    of  the  noble  fire  broke  out  in    the  house    of  the  noble 
lady,                                                                         lady, 


~A*» 


/www 

/www  1 1     v\ 

/www 


n    /WWW 

AMAM 


dw      ww        mi*         am       er      dhhems  an  pet  hi 

not    was     water     there     to     quench  it,    not  did    heaven    let  fall 


/wwv\ 

AAWVW 
/WWW 


T 


1P 


o 


i  i  i 


mu-s      em         pa  usert  an  trdt  dru 

its  rain     in    the  house  of  the  lady,  not  being  it  the  season  thereof. 


56. 


D 


* 


i 


as    pit 
And  behold, 


terns     un-nd 

she  who  had  not 
opened  to  me, 


t1       \ 


dbs 
her  heart 


/www     Z£r^ 

ant         er 
(was)  sad 


an  relch 


dn7ch-f 


nk 


serer-nes 


nuts      em 


amem 


not  knowing  if  he  lived.  She  went  round  her  city  with  lamentation, 


through 


&jj 


If1      ?|  1 


<o< 


dw     ww    i         e/i     hherus         db-d  ant  en  slier 

not  came  [any]    at    her  call.    My  heart   was  sad    about    the  child 
II — Q 


226  SORROWS    OF   ISIS 

hers               er  sednJch             shu     em     bet  -  f  nds-d 

for  her  sake,     (I  wished)  to     (him  that  was)  without  I  cried  out 
revive                          fault. 

-*-    i     tM  i    *     n          ii       CM               ^    i  <=>       1 

wes  her        mad         nd      sep  sen       mak             ret-d  hher    dnkh 

to  her,       Come     to  me,  twice.  A  charm  is  my  word  having   life. 


o 


J 


nuh         satet  rekht     em      nuts  ter  bethet 

I  am  a  daughter  known    in    her  city,  who  driveth  away       evil 

, —  ® 


em  tep-res  sba-nud  dtf-d  er       relch       nuh 

by     her  utterance.     Taught  me      my  father      to      know.     I  am 


Q   Q  _,  _  Ki   ■  =  " 


58.        > 1  ^=^  £|         AAAAAA  H 


0  <£> 

H -1 

O        - — fl  I 

satet-f              mer            Jchat-f     uah  en   Ast        ddids  her 

the  daughter    beloved  of    his  body.     Laid      Isis     her  hands  upon 


neJchen  er    sednJch      entet  em  ha  dhet  met 

the  child  to    vivify  that  of  which  had  closed  the  throat.    0  poison 

AAAAAA        V  _C]°\i       1    -/J        <-_>  |  |  S  AAAAAA        '  -A     ^       AAAAAA  _<d       ^ 

Te/ew.  mddt       per     her        ta  an      sliaset      an       dqet 

of  Tefen,    come,    appear  on  the  earth,  not    advance,  not  enter  in. 

met  Befent  mddt        per      her        ta  nuh    Ast 

0  poison      of  Befent,      come,     appear   on  the  earth.        I  am   Isis 


SORROWS   OF   ISIS 


227 


1 


o 
netert 


nebt 


IV 

heka 


IV 


an 


heka  hhu 

the  goddess,     lady     of  words  of     worker  with     words  of     mighty- 
power,  power, 


4 


tchet  kheru       setem-nd     re  neb 


0 


°^ 


ffi 


jpeshu 


hhert  er  kher 


in  utterance  of    Hearken    mouth     (which)  biteth,    fall  downwards, 
speech.  to  me,       every 


rc=i3)f 


met         en       Mestet        an       sekheset  met         en      Mestetef 

Poison      of      Mestet,      not      advance,      poison       of      Mestetef 


an      theset  met 

not   rise  up.      Poison 


D 


zl  ^ 


of 


Petet  Thetet         an        dqet 

Petet     and  Thetet     not     enter. 


60. 


^     & 


D 


If1 


Motet      kher  kher  re  en       pehes  tchet  en 

Maatet     fall  down.      Chapter      of     stinging     (which)  spake 


h    M      s        iv      :    m 

Ast         netert  urt  heka  khent       neteru 

Isis,  the  goddess,  the  great  one  of  words  of  power,  head  of  the  gods. 


rc=T5l 


ertdt-nes 
Had  given  to  her     Seb 


$e?>  M?i  -  /       er     khesef      met       em 

his  powers     to   repulse   poison   from 


n 


sekhem-s 


khesef 


kJtet 


hem 


® 


hat 


met 


her  form  (?),  'repulsing,    turning   driving      away        poison 

away,      back,        back, 


em 
at 


228 


SORROWS    OF   ISIS 


ran 


k62- 


o 


o 


UTI3 


smeii 


per 


nehep  er  pet     em  tchet        Ra-mer         suht 

the  dawn        saying,       "  Ra-mer,     the  Egg    of  the  Goose  cometh 

forth 


1 —         ra< 

em  nehet 

from      the  sycamore. 


o 


mdku  metet-s  hentu 

A  protection      (are)  her  words      spoken 


AAAAAA  AAMM 

I        I        I 


B  63.  <=> 

tcher  ukh  tchet-d     en      ten      tu-a    em  ua 

at  the  season    of  evening.    I  speak     to     you.     lam    in    loneliness 


11  T 

tu-d    em 


«*=2_ 


em 


/WWV\  <; > 

seshen        ur 


g^ff  q 


en 


i   i   i 

naiu 


em-khet 


sept 


and  in     sorrow    greater    than    (that  of)    throughout    the  nomes, 

the  people 


64. 


em 


£ 


sliet 


^ 


ennu 


nek  (?)        qemu  sliet  qem 

(and  I  am)  as    a  man        feeble     who  hath    to  seek  out    and  to  look 

ceased 


cr=]  i 


m 


er 
upon 

I 

her  td 


O  i 
sliepset 

women 


uat 


em  pau-sen  hrd-ten  em  kher 

in      their  houses.      Your  face[s]      downwards, 


65. 


er 


i   i   i 

pehu 


er 


amenu 


em     Khebet 


to  make    a  way    to     the  swamps,     to     the  hidden     in     Khebet." 

places 


O 


a        <m&/a         nekhen         mit  met  dnkh       Rd     -   mi£ 

0      liveth      the  boy,       dieth      the  poison ;      liveth      Ra,      dieth 


SORROWS   OF   ISIS  229 

p=af        ^^  I1  w  J     66'  ^     "^  :&_      Jo 

me^              /fca  sm'6               Sena       e^  mut-f         Ast 

the  poison.    Verily,  healthy  be        Horus     for    his  mother     Isis. 

*<?i                     r\   /VWW\       n  /vww\                           m                                                             rv     _                             — . 

— k  p  \\  j  .xv    <^>    >-   e:  to, 

/jo.              sm'6  e?i£i          7c/ier         metes  mdtet       hhet 

Verily,    healthy  be  he  who  is    under    the  knife  also.     The  fire 


/www 

A/WWV 
/WWW 


t=i  67.     <$>    ®  /www    rl^ 

dhhem-tu  pet  hetepet  her  tep  re  en     Ast 

is  extinguished,     heaven      is  content      at  the  utterance  of    Isis, 

%     k     h     ji — va  ;~ 

netert  usert  it  dn-s-nd  khet-s 

the  goddess.    The  lady  (who)  came,  (she  who)  had  shut   her  house, 

on  me 


°°\ 


AAAAAA  _       V  J         ^      /V  AAAAAA        I— ' 


ArM  i  D 


meh-nes         pa         en  tah  en  ha  en  tah 

she  seized  the  house   of  the  poor  woman   because   the  poor  woman 


68.  <=^—   |       & 


-mnmr             m  "  I   O             I     ^5^> 

er     im     -     ?i&  sa    -    s           er  ?iser£         /ier  mew. 

had  opened  to  me  her  door.  Wherefore  the  lady  was  in  pain 

*T>  «*-  ^  Jj  ™  T         ^69.  fa 


shenen         em       Jcerh     ud  tep     -     nes         re-s  peshu, 

and  sorrow  during  night  one,  she  tasted     her  speech.  Was  stung 

sa-s  dn-s  khet-s         em  dsu  en  terns  un-nd 

her  son,    was  closed   her  house  in  return  for   her  not  having  opened 
for  her  to  me. 


230  SORROWS   OF   ISIS 

If      ?    V    A^   -i    PTJ 

a      tinkh       nekhen        mil  met  lea  senib 

0      liveth   the  child,    dieth     the  poison.        Verily    shall  be  sound 

Horus  through  his  mother  Isis.  Verily  shall  be  sound  he  who  is 


ffl 


^>^ 


&^         S  o  I     in 

/c/ier        metes  neb  mdtet  an  ta        en       beti 

under   the  knife    everyone   likewise.    Shall  not   bread     of    barley 


-      a  /"*   71.  V  fl     l|  § =  I  m 

< >  /"'       ii)  -/J    I       /wwv\  A  aaaaaa     Q.  IT] 

£e?*  -/  mei  hems  an  hemen  hdu  heh  en 

drive  out     poison  ?       It  shall  return    all  the  limbs    the  flame     of 

through 

m     <=>^      J  'A  t=     Im    — Jlo    ®  ii 

hetchet         ter  -  /  we5         em  Ami  e?&    J.s£     s<?p  sen 

hetchet    and  drive  out  the  fire   from  the  members      Isis.         Twice. 

A  AAAAAA  <£\  <- — -->      n     <- — ~>  . f\        l\ 

A  72.  C\  <=*  3    <=>-«_  "=fl-^ 


AAAAAA 
I 


mdd-t  net      Heru  relch  re-s  mdd-t        en 

Come  thou  to      Horus.     Thou  whose  mouth     come  thou     to 


is  wise 


Ii   IV   m   -    >*     El 

sa-t  a  an        neteru       em  mer     -     s  ma 

thy  son.      "  Hail,"     say     the  gods     in     her  neighbourhood,     like 

73.      ^j^™   it^      ^r^^r 


a  o 


entet  tcheteb  nes  Tchart  behd-nes 

one  whom       has  stung      the  scorpion  Tchart,  whom  hath  pierced 


SORROWS   OF   ISIS 


231 


<o) 


Behdt 


san 


^Cc3-!      A/VW\A 

nes 


/WWW     I       \\       I  \» 


A 


0 


Antesh 

Beh at,     whom  hath  put  to       Antesh. 


flight 


per  Asb     em 

Appeared      Isis     as 


^^ 


& 


her 


set 

one  who  was     in 
wounded 


shebenet-s 
her  body. 


II 
mdk-d  sep  sen       sa-d 

I  vill  protect,     twice,     my  son 


D 


<Z^3  — "—  ^         \\ 

pet-nes  ddui-s 

She  stretched  out     her  arms, 


75. 


Heru 
Horus. 


em       sent     sep  sen 
Fear  not,      twice, 


sa  khut-d  an  hheper  Jchet      neb      tit  erelc 

0  son,    my  glory.    Not  shall  happen    thing     any    evil    unto  thee. 


/WW\A 
A/VWW 
A/WW\ 

mu 


76. 


dm-h 


en 


an 


unnet 


entek 


sa 


Seed     is  in  thee     for     making 


A  <=> 


CZZ] 

A 


things  which   Thou  art   the  son 
are  to  be. 


her-db      Mesqet  per  em       Mil  an  mit-h  em 

within     Mesqet,      proceeding     from     Nu,     not  shalt  thou  die    by 


(°=0) 


J/wvwn    — 9^=r 


ta  na  met  entek  Bennu  da         mes 

the  flame      of  the     poison.     Thou  art      the  Bennu      Great     born 


her  tep 


trd 


^ 


I,  G 


1 


em       Het-ser 

the  House 
the  Prince 


wr      em   Annu       ruffle 


on  the  incense  trees   in   the  House  of   great   in    Annu.    Thou  art 


232 


SORROWS    OF   ISIS 


78.  4H 


.6. 


D 


O 


send      en  Abt  ser  klieper  mentit 

the  brother   of  the  Abt  Fish,  the  disposer  ofwhatistobe,   nursed 


vvvvv 

\ 


1? 


0 


79. 


o 


nu         mdut         em  then  en  Ret  Net  Bert  Eat 

by       the  cat  within      the  House  of  Net.      Rert,      and  Hat, 


ee? 


^ 


® 


Pes  em  sa  en  hdu-k  an       Jcher  tep-k         en 

and  Bes,      protect  thy  limbs.     Not  shall  fall    thy  head  before 


x  J% 
tchat 


80. 


D 


m 


D 


him  that  is 
hostile 


dm-l: 
to  thee. 


an  shep  hdu-k  tai 

Not    shall  conquer    thy  limbs      the  fire 


f=3i    ^ 


a     (£ 


f 


^ 


J\ 


9 


en  metu-k  an  hen-k  her  ta  an 

of       thy  poison.     Not      shalt  thou  fall      on      the  ground,     not 


81. 


^** 


i 


AAAAAA 


t 


khas-k  her    mu         an  sekhem  re  neb 

shalt  thou  be  in  on  water.    Not    shall  have  the     reptile       any 
peril  mastery 


□ 


dm-k 
over  thee. 


an 

Not 


/VWV\A 

rehen 
shall  crush  thee 


^ 


mai 
lion 


any 


pesh 
stinging 

sekhemet  dm-k  entek  sa  neter      tchesert 

(or)  be  master      over  thee.      Thou  art     the  son    of  a  god     holy 


1 


W 


SORROWS   OF   ISIS  233 

per  em        Seb  entek         Heru       an  sekhem 

proceeding     from      Seb.     Thou  art     Horus,    not    shall  have  the 

mastery 


oaf      =  &m^      ^*         ^       Ifl     <=> 

mefw  em        hdu-k  entek  sa  neter     tchesert 

the  poison      in     thy  limbs.     Thou  art     the  son    of  a  god      holy 


per  em       Seb       pa  entet       kher         tern  mdtet 

proceeding  from    Seb.    (With  him)  under  the  knife  likewise  (is  it). 

that  is 

IV,:  N-ar,*  =—v  n^;— 

aw    iv.              shepset       em     sa    en          hdu-k 
The  four     holy  goddesses      protect  thy  limbs 


unk      Ast       duur-th  em  tcha-s        baka-th       em      Heru 

I  am    Isis,    who  conceived    her  male     and  was    with    Horus. 

child,  heavy 

1.    i  sS     ^    °     m     0n    ®  — 

we£er£        mes-nd       Heru       sa  Asdr       em  khen     sesh       en 

A  goddess    I  bore      Horus,     son     of  Osiris,     within    a  nest     of 


_A~y<?_     ^  ®  ?      169.       ->T 

d/e/t        hdd-nd        her-s        ur      sep  sen     her  maa-nd 

papyrus  I  rejoiced   over  it  greatly,  twice,  because        I  saw  (in  him) 
plants. 

usheb  her        dt-f      dmen-d  su         setek-d         su 

one  who  would  answer  for  his  father.    I  hid   him,  I  concealed  him 


234  SORROWS   OF   ISIS 

a    «*    ~o*-   «>i3    Ik®        -fllll 

Mer    se«tf      netep-f       shema-d  dm  tud 

having  fear  of  his  being  I  went  to  the  city  Am,  (the  people)  saluted 
bitten. 

em  sewi  an  ... .  ursh-d  •      feer  /&e/&  nekhen 

according  to  custom.      I  spent  the  time      in  seeking  for      the  boy 

her  dri      kher  -f        hem  net       er        sekhen       Heru        qem-nd 
to  make     his  food.     I  returned     to      embrace     Horus,      I  found 

}     %  I        17°-  """•  <**>     f1      f1!^ 

su       Heru  nefer  en    nub      nekhen  suk 

him,    Horus,     the  beautiful  one  of    gold,    the  boy,    the  child, 


AAAAAA  AAAAAA   AAAAAA  /VA,  /WWW 

t=^        AAAAAA  \^\?\^  AAAAAA 

^r — >    AAAAAA  *$  «g»  AAAAAA 


a£e£  -/  netef-nef  taiu  em  mu        nu 

he  was  nothing.    He  had  bedewed    the  ground  with    the  water  of 


AA.                          AAAAAA              ±3  Q          ^^    ^^               «,                 ^^^                                              « 

maat-f         em            netet  nu     septi-f      tchet-f                urt 

his  eye,    and  with  the  foam  of  his  lips  ;  his  body    was  motionless, 

I              Sn   -^     /?&  o  ©I           i        ilw           1   Sit 

db-f      betesh   an       pa  metu         nu      hdu-f           utu-nd 

his  heart   still,    not   moved  the  muscles    of    his  body.    I  sent  forth 


t-it m.-i-i    V^f    ^rr,  *3 

£a&    /&er  amw  aie/i  rer-sen     nd 

a  cry The  dwellers  in  the  swamp  they  came  round  me 


SORROWS 

OF   ISIS 

1 

178. 

s>\ 

V3 

D 

mil 

her  a 

iu 

nd 

tahu 

235 

/  /WWV\ 

I  III 

e?)i  pan-sen 

at  once,  came       to  me      the  fenmen      from       their  houses, 

AAAAAA  AVWNA  rfTX  II        61  -fl  71/3(1  f\     <T 5» 

r-im^  179.^  I  J)         ^^^0 ■  fl 

|X1    Q    VU      AAAAAA  Q  |  fl     JJJ  j^     ^    Hi)      I  Sill 

nehep  -  se?*,         «,d  ^-er   JcJieru-d     akeb      -      sen  dru 

they  drew  nigh    to  me  at    my  call,       they  wept,       even  they, 


fg    ^  18Q.    _^    J^    J    p 


I  III 

/ier  wm  men-d  an  un  s  em  re  -f 

at   the  greatness  of  my  misery.         There  was  none  who    his  mouth 

opened 

dm  er      sa      neb        dm-sen      her  dun        sep  sen    an     un    relch 

there,    man  every  among  them  grieved      greatly.  There  was  none 

knowing 

am     er  sednkh  iu-nd  set  rekht 

there    to  make  to  live  (Horus).    Came  to  me  a  woman  well  known 

em      ?m£-s         erpei  7c7&e?i£  ww-s  iu-s 

in    her  city,    a  lady   at  the  head  of    her  district.    She  came 

wa        er    se-ker  dnkh        meh  db-s  dteru         her     khet  -  s 

to  me     to    restore  life,     her  heart  was  filled  with  her  affairs 


V    &  184-  T    J^i 


em  sent  sep  sen       sa        Heru  em  betesh 

according  to  wont.  Twice.  The  son   Horus  (was)  in   inactivity. 


236  SORROWS   OF    ISIS 


f\yX/1  /WWVA  II      ^ 


©  1 

II  I  Jfcd        JT'  A 

sep  sen       neter  mut  neklien         baq    er  tu        en       sen  -  f 

Twice.    The  son  of  the  mother    safe  from    the  evil   of    his  brother, 
of  the  god  was 

185-  J"k^  "He  ~*-7l  T  % 

ba  dmen-tu  an  dq  em  hhefti 

The  plants     were  hidden,    not  could  enter    there     an  enemy 

er-es  heka  en      Tern  tef  neteru 

into  them.     The  word  of  power     of      Tern      father      of  the  gods, 

/www  Q    /www  f| 

186.  *=      *=*  c=z  <a>-  ■¥•-        -jl.     - 

ew&      em      pet  em  dri  dnkhet     an         dq 

who  is    in    heaven,    was  as    the  maker    of  life,    not    entered 

I       Effll  _Zl     _£l  AAA/WN  <^>       2:V^—  .fid!        Hi 

Set  er  uu  yen  an     rer-nef  Kheb 

Set        into       region      this.      not  could  he  go  about  Kheb. 

a.  A  /www     5  I)  ***.         _n_  c=^:3  [f^8  (1 

W^  j  o    1  /wwv\    '  <£-i    I 

IZerit  baq         er  tu  en      send-f  an  tekhen-s 

Horus  was  smitten  by  the  wickedness  of  his  brother.    Not  had  she 

hidden 

il       Ml188---  M    ^    ?      W 

<x??m  s/imt       -      /      heh        sep        hru  enen 

those  who  were  in     his  service       many  time[s]  a  day.  These  (said) 


<f*_  f  ^  —    ^^(1      T    189- 

/&er-/  #?iM  JTer?^      en        mut-f  s  em  un-eref 

concerning  "Shall  Horus  for  his  mother?"  they  found  where  he 
him,            live  was, 


SORROWS    OF   ISIS  237 

r~~>  _  (Pb         ">     -  fl    -TV  I  0>L  WVA^AA 


tchart        her  tchetem  -  f  dun-db      her       Ichun       -      / 

and  a  Scorpion     stung  him,      and  the  slayer      hath  stabbed  him. 

of  the  heart 


d  /W*MA 


<=>      £3  _  <=>  <Q> 


ertd  en  Ast       fent-s       em         re-f  her  rekh  set  dru 

Placed  Isis      her  nose     in     his  mouth      to  know      if  had  breath 


191  ^  "VWVA  P^      *^  XJ      ^^  8^  O  ^^ 

'  LZZ2  Bl  d  x  ^-  i         — g 


em  Mew  en     sheta  -f        dp  -  s  men         nu      dudd 

he  who  was  in      his  coffin.  She  opened    the  wound    of   the  heir 

1«|»     ^-192.   ffl      7»^  ()fl         \^0 

netert      qem-nes  hher         met  sekhen-s  asta 

divine,  she  found  it  possessing  poison.  She  embraced  him  hurriedly 

9    a    a  ffl  _     n    ^j    j_j  193  §    ._ in 

her   'peiyer  hher  -f      md    remu      Jehad  her        tchd 

and  leaped  about  with  him     like  a  fish      laid  upon     a  fire 

(saying,)  Stung  is  Horus,    0  Ra,    stung  is     thy  son.  Stung  is 


Heru         ad        en       du         neb  en      Shu 

Horus,      heir      of      heir,      lord  of  the  [pillars  ?]    of      Shu. 

pesh  Hern  hun  en  Athet  nelchen      em 

Stung  is  Horus,      the  child      of    the  papyrus     the  child    in 

swamp, 


238  SORROWS   OF   ISIS 

□ 


196.  jS)  T  *~w*     (%^)  QQQ 


Het-ser  pesh  nekhen         nefer        en      nub  nu 

Het-ser.      Stung  is         the  child   beautiful     of    gold.     The  child, 


sw&  a£e£  -/  £>es/z/        Sent       sa        JJn-nefer 

the  babe,   he  is  nothing.    Stung  is    Horus,    son    of  Un-nefer. 


m  ere/        Nebt-het  her  rem         tdau-s  rer 

Then  came  Nephthys        weeping,      she  cried,     going  about 


dateh  Serq  her  petrd    sep  sen      nimd  trd 

the  swamp,   and  Serqet  (who  said),     What,    twice,    what  then  is 


er  sa  Heru        Ast  tua  ert  er        pet 

to     the  child     Horus,     Isis  ?     pray  thou    therefore     to     heaven 


205. 


!  Cv 


/www 

a 


hheper  aha  qeti  Bd  dn     nd  uda 

so  that  may   a  stop  to   the  sailors   of  Ra,    not  will  travel    the  boat 
come 


AAAAAA  "^  <CZ>  V\  JlKJ'O,  X 


en    Bd       er  sa  Heru  her  hes-f  utu 

of    Ra     from     the  son     Horus         from  where  he  is.     Sent  forth 


SORROWS    OF   ISIS  239 


io  n  -  -  -ji 


Ast     Jiheru-s       er         jpet  sebeh-s  er  uda        en 

Isis     her  cry      to      heaven,       her  prayer     (was)  to     Boat       of 


n  •      207.  o 

I     /www 


/-\  n  iimi 

AMAAA  /  H—         _      fl 


W                                              ZA      Ja  AAAAAA  A/WV\A 

hell            seJchen               dten      em         aq-s  an  menmen-f 

Millions  of   Stood  still        the  disk    at   her  coming,   not  moved  he 
years. 

?   I-    44    2      T  208-#- 

her       dst-f       Tehuti         iu          djper          em  peh  -  f 

on     his  seat.      Tboth     came    provided     with  his  magic  power, 


m  *tk       ~ a       □ 


v  ~~**  an    ®  ii     ni 

I'her  utu  dat      en     maakheru       peter    sep  sen     Ast 

possessing   command   great    of     mad-kheru.    What,    twice,     Isis, 


1  °  % #  209. 


Cs2 


netert  hhut  rekh  re  -  s  an      tu 

goddess,    mighty  one,  understanding  (with)  her  mouth,     not    evil 


0 


as  er  sa        Hern  sa-f  en  uda 

behold  shall  be  to  the  son  Horus,  his  protection   is  from   the  boat 


AAAAAA 

O 


en        Bd  i-nd  man        em  tejpt  dten 

of         Ra.         I  have  come     to-day       in        the  boat    of  the  disk 


240  SORROWS   OF   ISIS 

*=  J 

em  dst  -f         en             sef                              hek                 hlieper 

from  its  place       of      yesterday.           When  the  night      cometh 


*^_  zwwvv        *^      211.       ^~^c=y^  •  n 


P   J 


seshep  ter  er       senb      Heru      en        mut  -  f 

the  light  driveth  (it)  away    to       heal     Horus     for      his  mother 

I    ^  H AWWV  A    ^ 

212.  h  ^37  /i\        ^        y 

J.s£  sa  %e&        e«£        Mer        maten  mdtet 

Isis  (and)  person   every   who  is   under    the  knife    likewise. 


(     241     ) 


CHAPTER  XIV 
SETjp^fl^^OR  SUTI,^^,AND  NEPHTHYS 

SET,  the  Xr\B  of  Plutarch,  and  the  god  who  was  identified 
with  Typhon  in  late  times,  was,  according  to  the  Helio- 
politan  system  of  mythology,  the  son  of  Seb  and  Nut,  the  brother 
of  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Nephthys,  the  husband  of  Nephthys,  and  the 
father  of  Anubis ;  the  worship  of  the  god  is,  however,  very  much 
older  than  this  system,  and  in  primitive  times  the  attributes  of  the 
god  were  very  different  from  those  which  are  usually  ascribed  to 
him  in  the  late  dynastic  period.  In  the  Pyramid  Texts  we  find 
Set  associated  very  closely  with  Horus,  and  he  always  appears  in 
them  in  the  character  of  a  god  who  is  a  friend  and  helper  of  the 
dead.  It  will  be  remembered  that  according  to  one  myth  the  floor 
of  heaven  was  made  of  a  vast,  rectangular  plate  of  iron,  the  four 
corners  of  which  rested  upon  four  pillars  which  served  to  mark  the 
cardinal  points.  At  certain  places  this  iron  plate  was  thought  to 
be  so  near  the  tops  of  the  mountains  that  the  deceased  might  easily 
clamber  on  to  it  and  so  obtain  admission  into  heaven,  but  at  others 
the  distance  between  it  and  the  earth  was  so  great  that  he  needed 
help  to  reach  it.  A  legend  current  in  early  times  asserted  that 
Osiris  experienced  some  difficulty  in  getting  on  to  the  iron  plate, 
and  that  he  only  succeeded  in  doing  so  by  means  of  a  ladder  with 
which  Ra  provided  him.  Even  then  Osiris  appears  to  have  found 
some  difficulty  in  mounting  the  ladder,  and  he  was  finally  helped 
to  ascend  it  by  Heru-ur  and  Set,  who  were  twin  gods.  Thus  in 
the  text  of  Pepi  I.  (line  192),  the  deceased  is  made  to  say,  "  Homage 
"  to  thee,  0  divine  Ladder !  Homage  to  thee,  0  Ladder  of  Set ! 
"  Stand  thou  upright,  0  divine  Ladder !    Stand  thou  upright,  0 

II R 


242  SET   AND   HORUS 

"  Ladder  of  Set !  Stand  thou  upright,  0  Ladder  of  Horus,  whereby 
"  Osiris  came  forth  into  heaven."  In  the  text  of  Unas  (line 
493)  it  is  said,  "Unas  cometh  forth  upon  the  Ladder  which  his 
"father  Ra  hath  made  for  him,  and  Horus  and  Set  take  the  hand 
"  of  Unas,  and  they  lead  him  into  the  Tuat."  x  On  the  other  hand, 
in  another  passage  Ra  and  Horus  are  said  to  set  up  the  Ladder  for 
Osiris  (line  579  ff.),  but  even  so  when  the  dead  king  "  standeth  up 
"he  is  Horus,  and  when  he  sitteth  down  he  is  Set." 

The  association  of  Set  with  Horus  in  these  and  many  other 
passages  well  illustrates  the  antiquity  of  the  cult  of  Set,  and  helps 
us  to  understand  his  attributes.  Here  we  find  him  regarded  as  the 
equal  in  every  respect  of  Heru-ur,  i.e.,  "  Horus  the  Elder,"  who 
was  admittedly  one  of  the  oldest  gods  in  Egypt,  and  it  was 
considered  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  deceased  that  Set  should 
be  propitiated,  and  his  favour  secured.  From  other  passages, 
however,  it  is  clear  that  there  existed  opposition  and  hostility 
between  Heru-ur  and  Set,  and  that  the  destruction  of  one  god  by 
the  other  was  only  prevented  by  Thoth,  who  in  his  capacity  as 
regulator  of  the  strife  which  existed  between  the  two  gods,  was 

called  Ap-kehu,  \J  <=>  |  % ,  or  Ap-rehui,  \/  |  ^  \\ ,  or 
\f  <==>  |  \\  ^\  J\J\,  i.e.,  "Judge  of  the  two  opponent  gods,"  and 
thus  it  is  clear  that  even  in  the  period  of  the  Early  Empire  Set 
was  regarded  both  as  the  enemy  of  Heru-ur  and  as  a  god  who 
could  be  of  service  to  the  dead  in  the  Underworld,  and  who  if  he 
were  not  a  friend  to  him  would  certainly  be  a  foe.  From  the  fact 
that  Heru-ur  and  Set  were  thought  to  be  always  in  opposition  we 
are  justified  in  assuming  that  the  attributes  of  the  former  god 
were  exactly  contrary  to  those  of  the  latter,  and  the  assumption  is 
supported  by  the  evidence  of  the  hieroglyphic  texts.  Heru-ur,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  was  the  god  of  the  sky  by  day,  and  Set  was 
the  god  of  the  sky  by  night ;    this  fact  is  proved  by  the  figures 

o  ft  <=>  ^  s-j  J^  — o  —  (gj  j  r,]  ^  P —  \  \  <=> 


The    dual    God    HORUS-SET. 


SET   AND   HORUS  i>4:5 

of  the  double  god  which  are  found  in  mythological  scenes  whereon 
the  head  of  Heru-ur  and  the  head  of  Set  are  seen  upon  one  body. 
The  attributes  of  Heru-ur  changed  somewhat  in  early  dynastic 
times,  but  they  were  always  the  opposite  of  those  of  Set,  whether 
we  regard  the  two  gods  as  personifications  of  two  powers  of  nature, 
i.e.,  Light  and  Darkness,  Day  and  Night,  or  as  Kosmos  and  Chaos, 
or  as  Life  and  Death,  or  as  Good  and  Evil. 

The  signification  of  the  name  of  Set  is  not  easy  to  determine. 
Heru,  or  Horus,  certainly  means  "he  who  is  above,"  and  by  analogy 
the  name  Set  ought  to  mean  something  like  "  he  who  is  below ;  " 
and  in  proof  of  this  Dr.  Brugsch  calls  attention !  to  the  well- 
known  Coptic  words,   gp<M  "above,"  and  ecHT  "below."     The 

hieroglyphic   form   of    the   name    Set,     U,   or  ,  has   for    its 

determinative  either  a  stone,  ma  (\ I  )  ,  or  the  figure  of  an  animal, 
'Vj ,  or  Kj   (y  &  \A ,  or    Ho  >£_j) ;    the  former  of  these  indicates 

that  the  god  was  the  personification  of  the  stony  or  desert  land  and 
the  regions  of  death,  but  the  signification  of  the  latter  is  not  so 
easy  to  understand  because  the  animal  has  not  yet  been  identified. 
The  pictures  of  the  animal  which  was  supposed  to  be  the  incarnation 
of  Set  represent  it  with  a  head  something  like  that  of  a  camel, 
with  curious,  pricked  ears,  and  a  straight  tail,  bifurcated  at  the 
end.  In  the  absence  of  any  facts  on  the  subject  we  must  assume 
that  the  animal  which  was  the  symbol  of  Set  was  one  that  prowled 
about  by  night  in  the  deserts  and  in  waste  places  of  the  towns  and 
cities,  and  that  his  disposition  was  hostile  to  man,  and  wicked 
generally,  and  that  owing  to  his  evil  reputation  he  was  hunted  and 
slain  with  such  diligence  that  he  became  extinct  in  comparatively 
early  times. 

The  region  in  which  the  Set  animal  lived  appears  to  have 
been  situated  in  the  South,  and  the  god  Set  became,  in  consequence, 
the  god  of  the  South,  just  as  Heru-ur  became  the  god  of  the 
North,  and  as  such  he  assisted  at  the  coronation  ceremonies  of 
kings.  Thus  a  relief2  at  Thebes  represents  Horus  and  Set  standing 
one  on  each  side  of  Seti  L,  and  each  god  is  pouring  out  a  libation 

1  Beliijiou,  p.  702.  -  Lanzoue,  Dizionario,  pi.  375. 


244  SET   AND   HORUS 

of  "  life  "  over  the  head  of  the  king: ;  and  in  another  scene l  Horus 
and  Set  are  represented  in  the  act  of  placing  the  double  crown  of 
the  South  and  the  North  upon  the  head  of  Rameses  II.  Horus 
says  to  the  king,  "  I  will  give  thee  a  life  like  unto  that  of  Ra,  and 
years  even  as  the  years  of  Tern,"  and  Set  says,  "  I  stablish  the 

"  crown  upon  thy  head  even  like  the  Disk  (\\      '  )  [on  the  head  of] 

"  Amen  Ra,  and  I  will  give  thee  all  life,  and  strength,  and  health  ;  " 
in  his  character  of  giver  of  life  each  god  holds  in  his  hand  the 
notched  palm  branch,  :P,  symbol  of  "  years,"  which  rests  upon  a 
frog,  *vN,  and  Q,  the  emblem  of  the  Sun's  path  in  the  heavens 
and  of  eternity.  In  yet  another  scene2  we  find  Set  teaching 
Thothmes  III.  the  use  of  the  bow  in  connexion  with  the  emblem  of 
the  goddess  Neith,  whilst  Horus  instructs  him  how  to  wield  some 
weapon,  which  appears  to  be  a  staff.  According  to  Dr.  Brugsch,3 
Set  was  the  god  of  the  downward  motion  of  the  sun  in  the  lower 
hemisphere,  in  a  southerly  direction,  and  for  this  reason  he  was  the 
source  of  the  destructive  heat  of  summer  ;  and  since  the  days 
began  to  diminish  after  the  summer  solstice,  it  was  declared  that 
he  stole  the  light  from  Horus  or  Ra,  and  he  was  held  to  be  the 
cause  of  all  the  evil,  both  physical  and  moral,  which  resulted 
therefrom.  The  light  which  Thoth  brought  with  the  new  moon 
was  withdrawn  by  Set  as  soon  as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  obtain 
power  over  that  luminary,  and  he  was,  naturally,  thought  to  be  the 
cause  of  clouds,  mist,  rain,  thunder  and  lightning,  hurricanes  and 
storms,  earthquakes  and  eclipses,  and  in  short  of  every  thing  which 
tended  to  reverse  the  ordinary  course  of  nature  and  of  law  and 
order.  From  a  moral  point  of  view  he  was  the  personification  of 
sin  and  evil. 

The  mythological  and  religious  texts  of  all  periods  contain 
many  allusions  to  the  fight  which  Set  waged  against  Horus,  and 
more  than  one  version  of  the  narrative  is  known.  In  the  first  and 
simplest  form  the  story  merely  records  the  natural  opposition  of 
Day  to  Night,  or  Night  to  Day,  and  the  two  Combatant  gods  were 
Heru-ur,  or  Horus  the  Elder,  and  Set.  In  its  second  form  the 
two  Combatant  gods  are  Ra  and  Set,  and  the  chief  object  of  the 

1  Lanzone,  Dizionario,  pi.  374.        2  Ibid.,  pi.  376.        3  Religion,  p.  703. 


SET   AND    HORUS  245 

latter  is  to  prevent  Ra  from  appearing  in  the  East  daily.  The 
form  which  Set  assumed  on  these  occasions  was  that  of  a  monster 
serpent,  and  he  took  with  him  as  helpers  a  large  number  of 
small  serpents  and  noxious  creatures  of  various  kinds.     The  name 

of  the  serpent  was  Apep,   TTl  ibM ,  or  Afiapef,  j\  aJ^  J^_ , 

which  is  preserved  in  Coptic  under  the  form  <mt<juc|>,  but  he  was  also 

called  Rerek,   <=>  |® j[_ ,  and  since  he  was  identified  with  a  long 

series  of  serpent  monsters  he  had  as  many  names  as  Ra.  The 
weapons  with  which  Apep  fought  were  cloud,  mist,  rain,  darkness, 
etc.,  and  Ra,  his  opponent,  was  armed  with  the  burning  and 
destroying  heat  of  the  sun,  and  the  darts  and  spears  of  light.  The 
result  of  the  fight  was  always  the  same ;  Apep  was  shrivelled  and 
burnt  up  by  Ra,  but  he  was  able  to  renew  himself  daily,  and 
at  the  end  of  each  night  he  collected  his  fiends,  and  waged  war 
against  Ra  with  unabated  vigour.  In  the  third  form  of  the  story 
the  Combatant  gods  are  Osiris  and  Set,  and  we  have  already  seen 
how  Set  slew  his  brother  and  persecuted  his  widow  and  child,  and 
how  he  escaped  punishment  because  Osiris  had,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  none  to  avenge  his  cause.  In  the  fourth  form  of  the  story 
the  Combatant  gods  are  Horus,  the  son  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  and  Set, 
and  the  avowed  intention  of  Horus  is  to  slay  him  that  slew  his 
father  Osiris. 

The  two  gods  fought  in  the  forms  of  men,  and  afterwards  in 
the  forms  of  bears,  and  Horus  would  certainly  have  killed  Set, 
whom  he  had  fettered,  had  not  Isis  taken  pity  upon  her  brother 
and  loosed  his  bonds  and  set  him  free.  The  fight  between  Horus, 
son  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  and  Set,  had  a  very  important  bearing  on 
the  destinies  of  the  dead,  for  to  it  was  attached  the  moral  idea  of 
the  victory  of  Good  over  Evil,  and  the  deceased  was  believed  to 
conquer  Set  even  as  Osiris  had  done.  Thus  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead 
(ix.  3),  he  says,  "  I  have  come,  I  have  seen  my  divine  father  Osiris. 
"  I  have  stabbed  the  heart  of  Suti "  (i.e.,  Set) ;  and  from  Chapter 
xviii.H  1  ff.,  we  may  see  that  although  the  fiends  of  Set  changed 
themselves  into  wild  beasts  on  the  night  of  the  breaking  and 
turning  up  of  the  earth  in  Tattu,  Osiris,  by  the  help  of  Thoth, 
slew  them,  and  mixed   their   blood   with  the   sods.     In   Chapter 


246  SET-TYPHON 

xxiii.  2,  we  find  the  deceased  praying  that  Thoth  will  come  to  him, 
and  will  by  means  of  his  words  of  power  loose  the  bandages  where- 
with Set  has  fettered  his  mouth  ;  and  in  Chapter  xxxix.  15,  we  find 
him  declaring  that  he  is  Set  who  "  letteth  loose  the  storm-clouds 
"  and  the  thunder  in  the  horizon  of  heaven,  even  as  doth  the  god 

"  Netcheb-ab-f,  (^  J  ^  ^  *— )  •     Elsewhere  (xl.  1  ff.)  Apep  is 

called  both  Hai,  [Tl  iL  N\  ^  ,  ancl  Am-aau, a  ^  ^  ~  ^  1^1 , 

i.e.,  the  "Eater  of  the  Ass,"  and  he  is  declared  to  be  a  being 
abominable   both   to    Osiris   and    to   the   god    Haas,    ^^  ^ ,    or 

^F  lb^  ®  Q  P  H  5  ^ne  -^ss  referre(l  *°  nere  is>  °f  course,  Ra  ;  the 
Ass  was  regarded  in  one  aspect  as  a  solar  animal  because  of  his 
great  virility.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  passages  prove  that 
even  in  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty  Set  was  regarded  as  a  god  who  was 
friendly  towards  the  deceased,  for  we  read  (xvii.  131),  "Tern  hath 
"  built  thy  house,  Shu  and  Tefnut  have  founded  thy  habitation;  lo  ! 
"drugs  are  brought,  and  Horus  purifieth  and  Set  strengthened, 
"  and  Set  purifieth  and  Horus  strengthened."  In  the  Chapter  of 
the  deification  of  members,  the  backbone  of  the  deceased  is  identified 
with  the  backbone  of  Set  (xlii.  12),  and  elsewhere  the  deceased 
says  (I.b  2)  "  Suti  and  the  company  of  the  gods  have  joined  together 
"  my  neck  and  my  back  strongly,  and  they  are  even  as  they  were 
"  in  the  time  that  is  past  ;  may  nothing  happen  to  break  them 
"  apart."  But  in  Chapter  lxxxvi.  6,  the  deceased  says,  "  Set,  son 
of  Nut,  [lieth]  under  the  fetters  which  he  had  made  for  me;" 
and  elsewhere  (cviii.  8),  he  is  said  "to  depart,  having  the  harpoon 
"  of  iron  in  him,"  and  to  have  thrown  up  everything  which  he  had 
eaten  and  to  have  been  put  in  a  place  of  restraint. 

A  statement  in  Plutarch's  Be  hide  et  Osiride  (§  62),  informs 
us  that  Typhon  was  called  Seth,  and  Bebo,  and  Smy,  "  all  of  them 
"  words  of  one  common  import,  and  expressing  certain  violent  and 
"  forcible  restraint  and  withholding,  as  likewise  contrariety  and 
"  subversion ;  we  are,  moreover,  informed  by  Manetho  that  the 
"  load-stone  is  by  the  Egyptians  called  the  '  bone  of  Horus,'  as 
"  iron  is,  the  '  bone  of  Typho.' "  This  information  is  of  con- 
siderable    interest,    for     it     makes    the     identity    of     Set     and 


SET   AND   BABA  247 

Typhon1  certain,  and  it  is,  moreover,  supported  by  the  evidence  of 


the  inscriptions.     The  name  Seth  is,  of  course,  Set,  jj ;  Bebo  is 

the  Egyptian  J^^^^^Baba,  and  Smy  is  J^i)^, 
Smai,  the  well-known  Egyptian  name  for  Set  as  the  Arch-Fiend. 
The  associates  of  Set  were  called  Smaiu,  T  lb.  (10  i ,  and  the 


determinative  s — a,  shows  that  the  idea  of  "  violence  "  was  implied 
in  the  name.  That  iron  was  connected  with  Set  or  Typhon 
is  quite  clear  from  the  passage  quoted  by  Dr.  Brugsch 2  in  which 
Thoth  is  said  to  have  obtained  from  Set  the  knife  with  which  he 
cut  up  the  bull. 

It  has  been  said  above  that  the  serpent  and  the  Set  animal 
were  the  common  symbols  of  Set,  but  instances  are  known  in 
which  he  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a  man,  wearing  a  beard  and 
a  tail,  and  holding  the  usual  symbols  of  divinity.  In  the  example 
figured  by  Lanzone3the  god  is  called  "mighty-one  of  two-fold 
strength,"  <x=>  f^f]  ^— °,  and  is  accompanied  by  Nephthys,  who 
wears  upon  her  head  a  pair  of  horns  and  a  disk.  Now,  as  Set  was 
the  personification  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  of  evil,  and  of 
the  forces  of  the  waters  which  were  supposed  to  resist  light  and 
order,  a  number  of  beasts  which  dwelt  in  the  waters,  or  at  least 
partly  on  land  and  partly  in  the  water,  were  regarded  as  symbols 
of  him  and  as  beings  wherein  he  took  up  his  habitation.  Among 
these  were  the  serpent  Apep,  the  fabulous  beast,  Akhekh,  T" 


which  was  a  species  of  antelope  with  a  bird's  head  surmounted  by 
three  uraei,  and  a  pair  of  wings,  the  hippopotamus,  the  crocodile, 
the  pig,  the  turtle,  the  ass,  etc.  These  animals  were,  however,  not 
the  only  ones  which  were  regarded  as  types  of  Set,  for  as  Dr. 
Brugsch  has  rightly  observed,  every  creature  which  was  snared  or 
caught  in  the  waters  or  hunted  in  the  desert,  was  treated  as  an 
incarnation  of  Set ;  and  animals  with  red,  or  reddish-brown  bail- 
or skins,  and  even  red-haired  men  were  supposed  to  be  especially 

1  Tawfan,  qUjId,  or  yVi^L,   the  Arabic   word  for  "storm,  deluge,  inundation, 
whirlwind,"  etc.,  appears  to  be  derived  from  the  name  Typhon. 

2  Religion,  p.  707.  3  Dizionario,  pi.  377. 


248  SET-ANIMALS 

under  the  influence  of  Set.  On  the  other  hand,  the  animals  which 
were  used  by  man  in  the  chase,  i.e.,  dogs,  cheetas,  etc.,  and  certain 
other  animals,  e.g.,  lions,  cats,  etc.,  were  held  to  be  sacred  to  the 
gods,  and  according  to  Plutarch  (De  hide,  §  72),  "  the  gods, 
"  through  a  dread  of  Typho,  metamorphosed  themselves  into  these 
"  animals,  concealing  themselves  as  it  were  from  his  purpose  in 
"  the  bodies  of  ibises,  dogs  and  hawks."  The  sacrifice  of  certain 
animals  associated  with  Set  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  ritual 
of  the  Egyptian  religion,  and  at  the  seasons  of  the  year  when  Set's 
influence  was  supposed  to  be  the  greatest  earnest  attempts  were 
regularly  made  to  propitiate  him  by  means  of  offerings. 

Thus  in  order  to  drive  away  Set  from  attacking  the  full  moon 
of  the  month  Pachons  an  antelope  was  sacrificed,  and  a  black  pig 
was  hacked  in  pieces  upon  an  altar  made  of  sand,  which  was  built 
on  the  bank  of  the  river.  On  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  the  month 
Choiak,  which  was  the  time  of  the  winter  solstice,  an  ass  was  slain, 
and  a  model  of  the  serpent-fiend  was  hewn  in  pieces.  On  the  first 
day  of  Mesore,  which  was  the  day  of  the  great  festival  of  Heru 
Behutet,  large  numbers  of  birds  and  fish  were  caught,  and  those 
which  were  considered  to  be  of  a  Typhonic  character  were  stamped 
upon  with  the  feet,  and  those  who  did  this  cried  out,  "  Ye  shall  be 
"  cut  in  pieces,  and  your  members  shall  be  hacked  asunder,  and  each 
"  of  you  shall  consume  the  other  ;  thus  doth  Ra  triumph  over  all  his 
"  enemies,  and  thus  doth  Heru-Behutet,  the  great  god,  the  lord  of 
"  heaven,  triumph  over  all  his  enemies."  On  such  occasions,  we  learn 
from  Plutarch  {Be  hide,  §  63),  sistra1  were  shaken  in  the  temples, 
"  for,  say  they,  the  sound  of  these  Sistra  averts  and  drives  away 
"  Typho ;  meaning  hereby,  that  as  corruption  clogs   and   puts  a 

1  The  sistrum  is  thus  described  by  Plutarch  : — "  Now  the  outer  surface  of  this 
"  instrument  is  of  a  convex  figure,  as  within  its  circumference  are  contained  those 
"  four  chords  or  bars,  which  make  such  a  rattling  when  they  are  shaken — nor  is 
"  this  without  its  meaning ;  for  that  part  of  the  universe  which  is  subject  to 
"  generation  and  corruption  is  contained  within  the  sphere  of  the  moon ;  and 
"  whatever  motions  or  changes  may  happen  therein,  they  are  all  effected  by  the 
"  different  combinations  of  the  four  elementary  bodies,  fire,  earth,  water,  and  air. 
"  Moreover,  upon  the  upper  part  of  the  convex  surface  of  the  sistrum  is  carved  the 
"  effigies  of  a  Cat  with  a  human  visage,  as  on  the  lower  edge  of  it,  under  those 
"  moving  chords,  is  engraved  on  the  one  side  the  face  of  Isis,  and  on  the  other  that 
"  of  Nephthys,"  etc. 


KINGDOM   OF   SET 


249 


"  stop  to  the  regular  course  of  nature,  so  generation,  by  the  means 
"  of  motion,  loosens  it  again,  and  restores  it  to  its  former  vigour." 

The  kingdom  of  Set  was  supposed  to  be  placed  in  the  northern 
sky,  and  his  abode  was  one  of  the  stars  which  formed  the  constella- 
tion  of  Khepesh,        a     ,     -j),  or  the   "Thigh,"   which  has  been 

identified  with  the  Great  Bear,  and  it  was  from  this  region  that  he 
made  use  of  his  baleful  influence  to  thwart  the  beneficent  designs 

c 

of  Osiris,  whose  abode  was  Sah  or  Orion,  and  of  Isis,  whose  home 
was  Sept,  or  Sothis.  A  little  consideration  will  show  that  the 
northern  sky  was  the  natural  domain  of  Set,  for  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  an  Egyptian  in  Upper  Egypt  the  north  was  rightly 
considered  to  be  the  place  of  darkness,  cold,  mist,  and  rain,  each  of 
which  was  an  attribute  of  Set ;  and  we  may  note  in  passing  that 
the  Hebrews  called  the  region  of  darkness,  or  the  winter  hemi- 
sphere, Sephon,  a  name  which 
appears  to  be  connected  beyond 
a  doubt  with  Saphon,  "North." 
The  chief  opponent  of  Set  was 
the  hippopotamus  goddess  Reret, 

<=>  jk  ?  who  was  believed  to  keep 


The  seven  stars  of  the  Great  Bear. 


this  power  of  darkness    securely 

fettered  by  a  chain  ;  this  goddess 

is  usually  represented  with  the  arms  and  hands  of  a  woman  which 

are  attached  to  the  body  of  a  hippopotamus,  and  in  each  she  holds 

a  knife.      Her  temple  was   called    Het-Khaat,        Q      Qn.      The 

duty  of  the  goddess  was  to  keep  in  restraint  the  evil  influence  of 
Set  and  to  make  clear  a  way  in  the  sky  for  the  birth  of  Heru-sma- 
taui,  whom  Dr.  Brugsch  identified  with  the  spring  sun  ;  the  texts, 
however,  make  it  clear  that  Reret  was  nothing  but  a  form  of  Isis. 

From  a  passage  in  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (xvii.  89)  we  learn 
that  Set  was  accompanied  by  the  four  children  of  Horus,  Mestha, 
Hapi,  Tuamutef,  and  Qebhsennuf,  who  were  said  to  be  "behind 
the  Thigh  in  the  northern  sky,"  and  were  believed  to  take  part  in 
curbing  the  evil  deeds  of  Set.  They  may  be  identified  with  the 
four  Af  gods,  ^  9,  rj)  llll  ?  "  who  are  the  four  gods  of  the  Followers 


250  SET,    NUBTI,    SUTEKH 

(/WWVA  \ 

nn  ^L-j ) ,  who  is  a  mighty 

"  warrior,"  and  it  was»their  duty  to  be  with  the  sailors  of  the  Boat  of 

Ra,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  Akhemu-seku,  (1    ®  i  — *—  |  ^T^  i , 

of    the    North,    and    with    the    four    stars    of    the    Meskheti, 


H  ^  <\\  c^-,  or  Great  Bear.  In  the  text  from  which  these 
details  are  quoted  it  is  said  definitely  that  the  "  Meskheti  is  the 
Thigh    of   Set,"    |  ~J~  ^  c^  °  ™™  ^ *     In    early   dynastic 

times  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  the  worship  of  Set  was  wide- 
spread, and  his  cult  seems  to  have  nourished  until  the  period  which 
lies  between  the  Xllth  and  the  XVIIIth  Dynasties ;  but  about 
B.C.  1700  a  change  came  over  his  fortunes,  and  the  Egyptians  began 
to  show  the  greatest  detestation  for  him.  He  had,  of  course, 
always  been  connected  with  evil,  but  it  appears  that  the  popularity 
of  his  cult  suffered  greatly  at  this  period  because  he  was  associated 
with  the  occupation  of  Northern  Egypt  by  the  Hyksos,  who 
identified  him  with  certain  Semitic,  Syrian  gods.  At  Kom  Ombo 
and  in  the  south  of  Egypt  a  common  name  of  Set  was  Nubti, 
r55^  J  ^  3-J ■>  or  Set-Nubti,  /!kl  f^H  J  ^  © ,  and  as  such  he  is 
usually  represented  with  one  body  and  two  heads,  one  being  that 
of  a  hawk,  and  the  other  that  of  the  remarkable  animal  which  was 
the  symbol  of  the  god.2    In  the  North  and  South  of  Egypt  Set  was 

called  both  Nubti  and  Sutekh,  1  %  J  ^  >  °r  ^^^  ^ '  ancl 
there  is  no  doubt  whatsoever  that  he  was  endowed  by  the  peoples 
in  the  Delta  with  all  the  attributes  of  the  Semitic  god  Baal, 
b#3,  whose  name  appears  in  Egyptian  under   the   form  Bar,   or 

That  the  name  of  Bar  was  common  in  Egypt,  at  all  events 
among  settlers  from  Syria,  is  proved  by  its  occurrence  in  proper 

<==>  aa^vx  va\  vfo  ^    anc[   Bari-Eumau, 

n  ^j  _£as  c  —  ^k  ^>  ^  ^e  last  being  the  equivalent  of  the  Semitic 

name  Ba'al  Ram,   DT^JB.8      In   Middle  Egypt  the  centre  of  the 

1  Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  p.  122  ;   Religion,  p.  712. 

2  See  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  pi.  378. 

3  See  M  tiller,  Asien  mid  Europa,  p.  309  ;   Recueil,  torn.  xii.  17. 


FIGURES   OF   SET  251 

worship    of  Set  was  at    Sept-Mert-et,  tfff  ^ ,   which  is 

commonly  known  as  Oxyrhynchus,1  and  other  prominent  places  of 

his  worship  were  one  of  the  Oases,  ^         ,  and  Sennu,  I  9  0  @> 

and  Unnu,  ^^5?   Hermopolis.      In  the   Delta  the  centre  of  his 

worship  was  the  famous  city  Het-uart,  or  Avaris,  where  the 
Hyksos  king  Apepa  made  him  to  be  the  greatest  of  all  the  gods  of 
his  dominions,  and  at  one  time  Set  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
the  national  god  of  the  Delta. 

In  the  narratives  of  their  prowess  in  battle  which  kings  caused 
to  be  inscribed  on  stelae  and  on  the  walls  of  their  temples,  they 
delighted  to  have  it  stated  that  they  were  as  terrible  as  Bar  in  the 
attacks  which  they  made  upon  their  foes.  Under  the  XVIIIth 
Dynasty  we  hear  little  of  Set,  for  Amen,  the  god  of  the  Upper 
Country,  had  the  pre-eminence,  but  the  cult  of  Set  appears  to 
have  been  revived  under  the  XlXth  Dynasty,  for  the  second  king- 
thereof  called  himself  Seti,  after  the  name  of  the  god,  and  this  king 
caused  bas-reliefs  to  be  set  up  in  his  temples  wherein  Set  is  repre- 
sented in  the  act  of  performing  the  coronation  ceremonies.  Under 
this  Dynasty  Ave  have  another  king  called  after  the  name  of  the 
god,  i.e.,  Seti  II.,  Menephthah,  but  after  that  period  the  figure 
of  Set  appears  in  no  cartouche,  and  his  evil  reputation  increased. 
To  the  XXth  Dynasty  probably  belongs  the  very  interesting 
bronze  figure  of  Set  in  the  British  Museum  (No.  18,191),  which 
was  worn  as  a  pendant,  and  was  originally  plated  with  gold ;  the 
god  stands  upright  and  wears  the  double  crown  of  the  South  and 
the  North  and  a  uraeus.  When  found  the  figure  was  bent  double, 
a  position  which  it  was  made  to  take  by  violence,  probably  by 
someone  who  detested  the  god,  but  the  body  has  been  straightened 
out  and  it  is  now  possible  to  examine  the  head  of  the  Set  animal, 
which  in  this  specimen  is  finely  shaped.  Another  interesting- 
figure  of  Set  is  No.  22,897,  which  is  of  good  workmanship ;  this, 
like  the  preceding,  was  also  gilded  and  worn  as  a  pendant. 
Belonging  to  a  much  later  period  we  have  the  small  wooden 
figure  of  the  Set  animal   (No.  30,460),  and  the  upper  part  of  a 

1  Brugsch,  Diet.  Grog.,  p.  275. 


252  SET   AND   THE   ASS 

two-headed  bronze  figure  of  Amen-Heru-pa-khart  (No.  16,228). 
The  former  stands  on  a  pedestal  on  which  is  a  sepulchral  inscrip- 
tion, addressed  to  Set,  "the  great  god,  lord  of  heaven,"  who  is 
asked  to  give  "life,  strength,  and  health"  to  him  that  had  it  made; 
and  the  latter  represents  Amen  under  the  form  of  a  ram-headed 
man,  who  wears  on  his  head  the  plumes  of  Shu,  the  disk  of  Ra, 
and  a  uraeus,  and  the  head  of  Set,  with  characteristic  ears.  The 
above  four  figures  are  when  taken  together  of  great  interest,  and, 
as  they  all  have  been  acquired  by  the  Trustees  of  the  British 
Museum  since  Signor  Lanzone  issued  the  last  part  of  his  Dizionario, 
they  form  a  valuable  addition  to  the  examples  registered  by 
him  in  it. 

The  ideas  which  were  held  by  the  Egyptians  about  Set  in  the 
late  times  are  well  illustrated  by  the  following  extract  from 
Plutarch  (De  Iside,  §  30),  who  says  that  it  is  evident  from  many  of 
their  rites  and  ceremonies  "  that  they  hold  him  in  the  greatest 
"  contempt,  and  do  all  they  can  to  vilify  and  affront  him.  Hence 
"their  ignominious  treatment  of  those  persons,  whom  from  the 
"  redness  of  their  complexions  they  imagine  to  bear  a  resemblance 
"  to  him  ;  and  hence  likewise  is  derived  the  custom  of  the  Coptites 
"  of  throwing  an  Ass  down  a  precipice  ;  because  it  is  usually  of 
"this  colour.  Nay,  the  inhabitants  of  Busiris  and  Lycopolis 
"  carry  their  detestation  of  this  animal  so  far,  as  never  to  make  any 
"  use  of  trumpets,  because  of  the  similitude  between  their  sound 
"  and  the  braying  of  the  ass.  In  a  word,  this  animal  is  in  general 
"  regarded  by  them  as  unclean  and  impure,  merely  on  account  of 
"  the  resemblance  which  they  conceive  it  bears  to  Typho  ;  and  in 
"  consequence  of  this  notion,  those  cakes  which  they  offer  with 
"  their  sacrifices  during  the  last  two  months  Paiini  and  Phaophi, 
"  have  the  impression  of  an  Ass  bound  stamped  upon  them.  For 
"  the  same  reason  likewise,  when  they  sacrifice  to  the  Sun,  they 
"  strictly  enjoyn  all  those  who  approach  to  worship  the  God, 
"  neither  to  wear  any  gold  about  them,  nor  to  give  provender  to 
"  any  ass.  It  is  moreover  evident,  say  they,  that  even  the 
"  Pythagoreans  looked  upon  Typho  to  have  been  of  the  rank  or 
"  order  of  Demons,  as,  according  to  them,  '  he  was  produced  in  the 
"  even  number  fifty-six.'     For   as    the  power   of  the  Triangle  is 


SET   AND   THE   ASS  253 

"  expressive    of    the   nature    of    Pluto,    Bacchus,    and    Mars,    the 
"  properties  of  the  Square  of  Rhea,  Venus,  Ceres,  Vesta,  and  Juno  ; 
"  of  the  Dodecagon  of  Jupiter  ;  so,  as  Ave  are  informed  by  Eudoxus 
"  is  the  figure  of  56  angles  expressive  of  the  nature  of  Typho  :    as 
"  therefore   all   the    others  above-mentioned    in   the    Pythagorean 
"  system  are  looked  upon  as  so  many  Genii  or  Demons,  so  in  like 
"  manner  must  this  latter  be  regarded  by  them.     'Tis  from  this 
"  persuasion  likewise  of  the  red  complexion  of  Typho,  that  the 
"  Egyptians  make  use  of  no  other  bullocks  in  their  sacrifice  but 
"  what  are  of  this  colour.     Nay,  so  extremely  curious  are  they  in 
"  this  respect,  that  if  there  be  so  much  as  one  black  or  white  hair 
"  in  the  beast,  'tis  sufficient  to  render  it  improper  for  this  service. 
"  For  'tis  their  opinion,  that  sacrifices  ought  not  to  be  made  of  such 
"  things  as  are   in   themselves  agreeable  and  well-pleasing  to  the 
"  Gods,  but,  on  the  contrary,  rather  of  such  creatures  wherein  the 
"  souls  of  wicked  and  unjust  men  have  been  confined  during  the 
"  course    of    their   transmigration.       Hence   sprang   that   custom, 
"  which  was  formerly  observed  by  them,  of  pronouncing  a  solemn 
"  curse  upon  the  head  of  the  beast  which  was  to  be  offered  in 
"  sacrifice,  and  afterwards  of  cutting  it  off  and  throwing  it  into  the 
"  Nile,  though  now  they  dispose  of  it  to  foreigners.     No  bullock 
"  therefore  is  permitted  to  be  offered  to  the  Gods,  which  has  not 
"  the  seal  of  the  Sphragistae  first  stamped  upon  it,  an  order  of 
"  priests  peculiarly  set  apart  for  this  purpose,  from  whence  likewise 
"  they  derive  their  name.     Their  impress,  according  to  Castor,  is 
'"a  man  upon  his  knees  with  his  hands  tied  behind  him  and  a 
"  sword  pointed  at  his  throat.'     Nor  is  it  from  his  colour  only  that 
"they  maintain  a  resemblance  between  the  Ass  and  Typho,  but 
"  from  the  stupidity  likewise  and  sensuality  of  his  disposition ;  and 
"  agreeably  to    this  notion,   having  a  more  particular  hatred    to 
"  Ochus  than  to   any  other  of  the  Persian  monarchs  who  reigned 
"  over  them,  looking  upon  him  as  an  exsecrable  and  abominable 
"  wretch,  they  gave  him  the  nick-name  of  the  Ass,  which  drew  the 
"  following  reply  from  that  prince,  '  But  this  ass  shall  dine  upon 
"  your  ox.'  and  accordingly  he  slew  the  Apis  :    this  story  is  thus 
"related   by  Dino.     Now  as   to  those  who   pretend    that  Typho 
"  escaped  out  of  the  battle  upon  an  Ass  after  a  flight  of  seven  days, 


254  NEPHTHYS 

"  and  that,  after  he  had  got  into  a  place  of  security,  he  begat  two 
"  sons,  Hierosolymus  and  Judaeus,  'tis  obvious  from  the  very  face 
"  of  the  relation,  that  their  design  is  to  give  an  air  of  fable  to 
"  [what]  the  Jewish  history  [relates]  of  the  flight  of  Moses  out  of 
"  Egypt,  and  of  the  settlement  of  the  Jews  about  Hierusalem  and 
"Judaea"  (Squire's  Translation). 

As  a  proof  of  the  correctness  of  Plutarch's  statements  may  be 
mentioned  the  figure  of  Set,  which  is  reproduced  from  a  Demotic 
papyrus  at  Leyden  by  Signor  Lanzone,1  and  which  represents  the 
srod  as  having  the  head  of  an  ass ;  on  his  breast,  which  is  that  of  a 
man,  is  inscribed  the  name  CH-9-.  We  have  now  seen  how  the  god 
Set  was  the  opponent  first  of  Heru-ur,  then  of  Ra,  andfi  nally  of 
Osiris  and  his  son  Horus,  and  that  during  the  long  period  of 
Egyptian  history  his  attributes  changed  according  to  the  various 
modifications  which  took  place  in  the  beliefs  concerning  this  god 
in  the  minds  of  the  Egyptians,  and  that  from  being  a  power  of 
nature,  the  darkness,  he  became  the  symbol  and  personification  of 
both  physical  and  moral  evil.  We  have  now  to  consider  briefly  the 
female  counterpart  of  Set,  that  is  to  say  the  goddess  Nephthys, 
and  to  describe  the  part  which  she  played  in  the  Great  Company 
of  the  gods  of  Heliopolis. 


Nebt-het  YGc^J'  or  TKSv   Nephthys' 

Nebt-het,  or  Nephthys,  was  the  daughter  of  Seb  and  Nut, 
and  the  sister  of  Osiris,  and  Isis,  and  Set,  and  the  wife  of  Set,  and 
the  mother  of  Anpu,  or  Anubis,  either  by  Osiris  or  Set.  The 
name  "  Nebt-het "  means  the  "  lady  of  the  house,"  but  by  the  word 
"house"  we  must  understand  that  portion  of  the  sky  which  was 
supposed  to  form  the  abode  of  the  Sun-god  Horus  ;  in  fact  "het" 
in  the  name  of  Nebt-het  is  used  in  exactly  the  same  sense  as  "  het  " 
in  the  name  "Het-Hert,"  or  Hathor,  i.e.,  the  "house  of  Horus." 
In  the  earliest  times  Nephthys  was  regarded  as  the  female  counter- 
part of  Set,  and  she  was  always  associated  with  him  ;    nevertheless 

1  Dizionario,  pi.  378. 


The    Goddess    NEBT-HET    (Nephthys). 


NEPHTHVS  255 

she  always  appears  as  the  faithful  sister  and  friend  of  Isis,  and 
helps  the  widowed  goddess  to  collect  the  scattered  limbs  of  Osiris 
and  to  reconstitute  his  body.  In  the  Pyramid  Texts  she  appears 
as  a  friend  of  the  deceased,  and  she  maintains  that  character 
throughout  every  Recension  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead ;  indeed,  she 
seems  to  perform  for  him  what  as  a  nature  goddess  she  did  for  the 
gods  in  primeval  times  when  she  fashioned  the  "  body "  of  the 
"  Company   of    the    Gods,"    and    when    she    obtained    the   name 


Nebkhat,  (i?=§  J)  j1  i.e.,  "  Lady  of  the  body  [of  the  Gods]." 

The  goddess  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a  woman  who  wears  upon 
her  head  a  pair  of  horns  and  a  disk  which  is  surmounted  by  the 

symbol  of  her  name,  TT ,  or  the  symbol  [J  only ;  and  her  commonest 

titles  are,  "  dweller  within  Senu,"  "  lady  of  heaven,"  "  mistress  of 
the  gods,"  "  great  goddess,  lady  of  life,"  "  sister  of  the  god,  eye  of 
Ra,  lady  of  heaven,  mistress  of  the  gods,"  "  lady  of  heaven,  mistress 
of  the  two  lands,"  "  sister  of  the  god,  the  creative  goddess  who  liveth 
within  An,"  etc.     The  chief  centres  of  her  worship   were    Senu 

„~©,  Hebet.  Qj  ^  (Behbit),  Per-mert,  lz^u  <=>,  Re-nefert, 
<===>t=t  T^^©,  Het-sekhem,  Het-Khas,  Ta-kehset,  and Diospolites. 

In  the  vignettes  of  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Booh  of  the 
Dead  Ave  find  Nephthys  playing  a  prominent  part  in  connexion 
with  Isis,  whose  efforts  it  seems  to  be  her  duty  to  second  and  to 
forward.  She  stands  in  the  shrine  behind  Osiris  when  the  hearts 
of  the  dead  are  weighed  in  the  Great  Scales  in  the  presence  of  the 
god;  she  is  seen  kneeling  on  fw"},  by  the  side  of  the  Tet,  from 
which  the  disk  of  the  Sun  is  thrust  upwards  by  the  "  living  Ra," 

*-^H ,  at  sunrise  ;  she  is  one  of  the  "  great  sovereign  chiefs  in  Tettu," 
with  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Heru-netch-hra-f ;  and  she  kneels  at  the 
head  of  the  bier  of  Osiris  and  assists  him  to  arise.  In  the  address 
which  she  makes  (Chap.  cli.A),  she  says,  "  I  go  round  about  behind 
"  Osiris.  I  have  come  that  I  may  protect  thee,  and  my  strength 
"  which  protecteth  shall  be  behind  thee  for  ever  and  ever.  The  god 
"  Ra  hearkeneth  unto  thy  cry ;  thou,  0  son  of  Hathor,  art  made  to 

1  See  Aeg.  Zeitschn'ft,  1864,  p.  G5. 


256  NEPHTHYS 

"triumph,  thy  head  shall  never  be  taken  away  from  thee,  and 
"  thou  shalt  be  made  to  rise  up  in  peace."  Like  Isis,  Nephthys 
was  believed  to  possess  magical  powers,  and  Urt-hekau, 
<!=>  5  LJ  1^  ^  §0  '  f  *,e"'  "  mionty  one  °f  words  of  power,"  was  as 
much  a  title  of  the  goddess  as  of  her  husband,  Set-Nubti,  the 
great  one  of  two-fold  strength,  ^=>  T\f}^  •  Nephthys  also,  like 
Isis,  has  many  forms,  for  she  is  one  of  the  two  Maat  goddesses,  and 
she  is  one  of  the  two  Mert  goddesses,  and  she  is  one  of  the  two 
plumes  which  ornamented  the  head  of  her  father  Ra.  In  her 
birth-place1  in  Upper  Egypt,  i.e.,  Bet-Sekhem,  or  "the  house  of 
the  Si  strum,"  the  goddess  was  identified  with  Hathor,  the  lady  of 
the  sistrum,  but  the  popular  name  of  the  city,  "Het,"  i.e.,  the 
"  House,"  seems  to  apply  to  both  goddesses.  In  the  Serapeum 
which  belonged  to  the  city,  or  the  House  of  the  Bennu,  Osiris  was 
re-born  under  the  form  of  Horus,  and  Nephthys  was  one  of  his 
"  nursing  mothers."  The  form  in  which  Osiris  appeared  here  was 
the  Moon,  and  as  such  he  represented  the  left  eye  of  the  Bennu  or 
Ra,  and  as  he  thus  became  closely  associated  with  Khensu  and 
Thoth,  to  his  female  counterparts  were  ascribed  the  attributes  of 
Sesheta  and  Maat,  who  were  the  female  counterparts  of  Thoth. 
Nephthys,  as  the  active  creative  power  which  protected  Osiris,  the 
Moon-god,  was  called  Menkhet,  ^  {r,  and  in  allusion  to  her 

beneficent  acts  in  connection  with  him  the  names  of  Benra-merit 
and  Kherseket  were  bestowed  upon  her,  and  the  former  appears 
to  belong  to  the  goddess  when  she  made  herself  manifest  under  the 
form  of  a  cat. 

From  Plutarch's  treatise  on  Isis  and  Osiris  we  may  gather 
many  curious  facts  about  the  Egyptian  beliefs  concerning 
Nephthys.  Thus  he  tells  us  (§38)  that  the  Egyptians  call  the 
"  extreme  limits  of  their  country,  their  confines  and  sea-shores, 
"  Nephthys  (and  sometimes  Teleute,  a  name  expressly  signifying 
"  the  end  of  anything),  whom  they  suppose  likewise  to  be  married 
"  to  Typho.  Now  as  the  overflowings  of  the  Nile  are  sometimes 
"  very  great,  and  extend  even  to  the  remotest  boundaries  of  the 
"  land,  this  gave  occasion  to  that  part  of  the  story,  which  regards 

1  Nephthys  was  born  on  the  last  of  the  five  epagomenal  days. 


NEPHTHYS  257 

"  the  secret  commerce  between  Osiris  and  Nephthys  ;  and  as  the 
"  natural  consequence  of  so  great  an  inundation  would  be  perceived 
"  by  the  springing  up  of  plants  in  those  parts  of  the  country,  which 
"  were  formerly  barren,  hence  they  supposed,  that  Typho  was  first 
"  made  acquainted  with  the  injury  which  had  been  clone  his  bed  by 
"  means  of  a  Mellilot-garland  which  fell  from  the  head  of  Osiris 
"  during  his  commerce  with  his  wife,  and  afterwards  left  behind 
"  him ;  and  thus,  they  say,  may  the  legitimacy  of  Orus  the  son  of 
"  Isis  be  accounted  for,  as  likewise    the  spuriousness   of  Anubis, 
"  who  was  born  of  jNTephthys.     So  again,  when  they  tell  us,  that 
"  it  appears  from  the   tables  of  the    successions  of  their  ancient 
"  kings,  that  Nephthys  was  married  to  Typho,  and  that  she  was  at 
"  first  barren,  if  this  indeed  is  to  be  understood,  not  as  spoken  of  a 
"  mortal  woman,  but  of  a  goddess,  then  is  there  design  to  insinuate 
"  the  utter  infertility  of  the  extreme  parts  of  their  land,  occasioned 
"  by  the  hardness  of  the  soil  and  its  solidity."     Plutarch  tells  us, 
moreover,  that  "  on  the  upper  part  of  the  convex  surface  of  the 
"  sistrum  is  carved  the  effigies  of  a  Cat  with  a  human  visage,  as  on 
"  the  lower  edge  of  it,  under  those  moving  chords,  is  engraved  on 
"  the  one  side  the  face  of  Isis,  and  on  the  other  that  of  Nephthys." 
The    face   of  Isis   represents    Generation,  and   that   of  Nephthys 
Corruption,  and  Plutarch   says  (§  63)    that  the    Cat   denotes   the 
moon,    "  its   variety   of   colours,    its    activity    in    the    night,    and 
"  the   peculiar   circumstances  which  attend   its  fecundity  making 
"it   a   proper    emblem    of    that    body.     For    it    is   reported   of 
"  this  creature,  that  it  at  first  brings  forth  one,  then  two,  after- 
"  wards  three,  and  so  goes  on  adding  one  to  each  former  birth  till 
"  it  comes  to  seven  ;  so  that  she  brings  forth  twenty-eight  in  all, 
"  corresponding  as  it  were  to  the  several  degrees  of  light,  which 
"  appear  during  one  of  the  moon's  revolutions.     But  though  this 
"  perhaps  may  appear  to  carry  the  air  of  fiction  with  it,  yet  may 
"  it  be  depended  upon  that  the  pupills  of  her  eyes  seem  to  fill  up 
"  and  to  grow  larger  upon  the  full  of  the  moon,  and  to  decrease 
"  again  and  diminish  in  their  brightness  upon  its  warning — as  to 
"  the  human  countenance  with   which  this  Cat  is  carved,  this  is 
"  designed  to  denote  that  the  changes  of  the  moon  are  regulated 
"  by  understanding  and  wisdom." 
II — s 


258  NEPHTHYS 

From  the  above  paragraphs  it  is  clear  that  Nephthys  is  the 
personification  of  darkness  and  of  all  that  belongs  to  it,  and  that  her 
attributes  were  rather  of  a  passive  than  active  character.     She  was 
the  opposite  of  Isis  in  every  respect ;  Isis  symbolized  birth,  growth, 
development  and  vigour,  but  Nephthys  was  the  type  of  death,  decay, 
diminution  and  immobility.     Isis   and    Nephthys  were,   however, 
associated  inseparably  with  each  other,  even  as  were  Horus  and 
Set,  and  in  all  the  important  matters  which  concern  the  welfare  of 
the  deceased   they   acted  together,   and  they  appear  together   in 
bas-reliefs    and    vignettes.       Isis,    according    to    Plutarch    (§  44), 
represented  the  part  of  the  world  which  is  visible,  whilst  Nephthys 
represents  that  which  is  invisible,  and  we  may  even  regard  Isis  as 
the  day  and  Nephthys  as  the  night.     Isis  and  Nephthys  represent 
respectively  the  things  which  are  and  the  things  which  are  yet  to 
come  into  being,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  birth  and  death,  and 
life  and  death.1     We  have,  unfortunately,  no  means  of  knowing 
what  the  primitive  conception  of  the  attributes  of  Nephthys  was, 
but  it  is  most  improbable  that  it  included  any  of » the  views  on  the 
subject  which  were  current  in  Plutarch's  time.     Nephthys  is  not 
a  goddess  with  well-defined  characteristics,  but  she  may,  generally 
speaking,  be  described  as  the  goddess  of  the  death  which  is  not 
eternal.     In  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Chap.  xvii.  30),  the  deceased 
is  made  to  say,   "  I  am   the  god  Amsu  (or,   Min)  in  his  coming 
"  forth ;  may  his  two  plumes  be  set  upon  my  head  for  me."     In 
answer  to  the  question,  "  Who  then  is  this  ?  "  the  text  goes  on  to 
say,  "  Amsu  is  Horus,  the  avenger  of  his  father,  and  his  coming 
"  forth  is  his    birth.     The    plumes    upon  his  head   are    Isis    and 
"  Nephthys  when  they  go  forth  to  set  themselves  there,  even  as  his 
"  protectors,  and  they  provide  that  which  his  head  lacketh,  or  (as 
"  others  say),  they  are  the  two  exceeding  great  uraei  which  are 
"  upon  the  head  of  their  father  Tern,  or  (as  others  say),  his  two 
"  eyes  are  the  two  plumes  which  are  upon  his  head." 

This  passage  proves  that  Nephthys,  although  a  goddess  of 
death,  was  associated  with  the  coming  into  existence  of  the  life 
which  springs  from  death,  and  that  she  was,  like  Isis,  a  female 
counterpart  of  Amsu,  the  ithyphallic  god,  who  was  at  once  the  type 

1  Religion,  p.  735. 


NEPHTHYS   AND    ISIS  259 

of  virility,  and  reproduction,  and  regeneration.  Isis  and  Nephthys 
prepared  the  funeral  bed  for  their  brother  Osiris,  and  together  they 
made  the  swathings  wherewith  his  body  was  swathed  after  death ; 
they  assisted  at  the  rising  of  the  Sun-god  when  he  rose  upon  this 
earth  for  the  first  time,  they  assisted  at  the  resurrection  of  Osiris, 
and  similarly,  in  all  ages,  they  together  aided  the  deceased  to  rise  to 
the  new  life  by  means  of  the  words  which  they  chanted  over  his  bier. 
In  late  dynastic  times  there  grew  up  a  class  of  literature  which 
is  now  represented  by  such  works  as  the  "  Book  of  Respirations," 
the  "  Lamentations  of  Isis  and  Nephthys,"  the  "  Festival  Songs 
of  Isis  and  Nephthys,"  the  "  Litanies  of  Seker,"  etc.,  works  which 
supply  us  with  the  very  words  which  were  addressed  to  Osiris  and 
to  all  those  who  were  his  followers.  The  goddesses  were  personified 
by  two  priestesses  who  were  virgins  and  who  were  ceremonially 
pure  ;  the  hair  of  their  limbs  was  to  be  shaved  off,  they  were  to 
wear  ram's  wool  garlands  upon  their  heads,  and  to  hold  tambourines 
in  their  hands ;  on  the  arm  of  one  of  them  was  to  be  a  fillet 
inscribed  "  to  Isis,"  and  on  the  arm  of  the  other  was  to  be  a  fillet 
inscribed  "to  Nephthys."  On  five  days  during  the  month  of 
December  these  women  took  their  places  in  the  temple  of  Abydos 
and,  assisted  by  the  kher  heb,  or  precentor,  they  sang  a  series 
of  groups  of  verses  to  the  god,  of  which  the  following  are 
specimens : — 

"  Hail,  lord  Osiris.  Hail,  lord  Osiris.  Hail,  lord  Osiris.  Hail, 
'lord  Osiris.  Hail,  beautiful  boy,  come  to  thy  temple  straight- 
'  way,  for  we  see  thee  not.  Hail,  beautiful  boy,  come  to  thy 
1  temple,  and  draw  nigh  after  thy  departure  from  us.  Hail, 
'  beautiful  boy,  who  leadest  along  the  hour,  who  increasest  except 
'  at  his  season.  Thou  art  the  exalted  image  of  thy  father  Tenen, 
'  thou  art  the  hidden  essence  who  comest  forth  from  Atmu.  0 
'thou  lord,  0  thou  lord,  how  much  greater  art  thou  than  thy 
'  father,  0  thou  eldest  son  of  thy  mother's  Avomb.  Come  thou 
'  back  again  to  us  with  that  which  belongeth  unto  thee,  and  we 
'  will  embrace  thee ;  depart  not  thou  from  us,  0  thou  beautiful 
'  and  greatly  loved  face,  thou  image  of  Tenen,  thou  virile  one, 
'  thou  lord  of  love.  Come  thou  in  peace,  and  let  us  see  thee,  0 
'our  lord,  and  the  two  sisters  will  join  thy  limbs  together,  and 


260  NEPHTHYS   AND    ISIS 

"  thou  shalt  feel  no  pain,  and  they  shall  put  an  end  unto  all  that 

"hath  afflicted  thee,  even  as  if  it  had  never  been Hail, 

"  Prince,  who  comest  forth  from  the  womb.  Hail,  Eldest  son  of 
"  primeval  matter.  Hail,  Lord  of  multitudes  of  aspects  and  created 
"  forms.  Hail,  Circle  of  gold  in  the  temples.  Hail,  Lord  of  time, 
"  and  Bestower  of  years.  Hail,  Lord  of  life  for  all  eternity.  Hail, 
"  Lord  of  millions  and  myriads.  Hail,  thou  who  shinest  both  in 
"  rising  and  setting.  Hail,  thou  who  makest  throats  to  be  in  good 
"  case.  Hail,  thou  Lord  of  terror,  thou  mighty  one  of  trembling. 
"  Hail,  lord  of  multitudes  of  aspects,  both  male  and  female.  Hail, 
"  thou  who  art  crowned  with  the  White  Crown,  thou  lord  of  the 
"Urerer  Crown.  Hail,  thou  holy  Babe  of  Heru-hekennu.  Hail, 
"thou  son  of  Ra,  who  sittest  in  the  Boat  of  Millions  of  Years. 
"  Hail,  thou  Guide  of  rest,  come  thou  to  thy  hidden  places.  Hail, 
"  thou  lord  of  fear,  who  art  self-produced.  Hail,  thou  whose 
"  heart  is  still,  come  to  thy  city.  Hail,  thou  who  causest  cries 
"  of  joy,  come  to  thy  city.  Hail,  thou  beloved  one  of  the  gods 
"  and  goddesses.  Hail,  thou  who  dippest  thyself  [in  Nu],  come  to 
"  thy  temple.  Hail,  thou  who  art  in  the  Tuat,  come  thou  to  thy 
"  offerings.  .  .  .  Hail,  thou  holy  flower  of  the  Great  House.  Hail, 
"  thou  who  bringest  the  holy  cordage  of  the  Sekti  Boat.  Hail, 
"thou  Lord  of  the  Hennu  Boat,  who  renewest  thy  youth  in  the 
il  secret  place.  Hail,  thou  Perfect  Soul  in  Neter-khert.  Hail, 
"  thou  holy  Judge  (?)  of  the  South  and  of  the  North.  Hail,  thou 
"  hidden  one,  who  art  known  to  mankind.  Hail,  thou  who  dost 
"  shine  upon  him  that  is  in  the  Tuat  and  dost  show  him  the 
"  Disk.  Hail,  lord  of  the  Atef  Crown,  thou  mighty  one  in  Suten- 
"henen.  Hail,  mighty  one  of  terror.  Hail,  thou  who  risest  in 
"  Thebes,  who  dost  flourish  for  ever.  .  .  .  Hail,  thou  living  Soul 
"  of  Osiris,  who  art  diademed  with  the  moon.  Hail,  thou  who 
"  hidest  thy  body  in  the  great  coffin  at  Heliopolis." 


(     261     ) 


CHAPTER    XV 

ANPU   (jTTM,    OR   ANUBIS 

IT  has  been  said  above  that  Nephthys  gave  birth  to  a  son  called 
Anpu,  or  Annbis,  and  that  his  father  was,  according  to  some, 
Osiris,  and  according  to  others,  Set;  from  another  point  of  view  he 
was  the  son  of  Ra.  The  animal  which  was  at  once  the  type  and 
symbol  of  the  god  was  the  jackal,  and  this  fact  seems  to  prove 
that  in  primitive  times  Anubis  was  merely  the  jackal  god,  and 
that  he  was  associated  with  the  dead  because  the  jackal  was 
generally  seen  prowling  about  the  tombs.  His  worship  is  very 
ancient,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  even  in  the  earliest  times  his 
cult  was  general  in  Egypt ;  it  is  probable  that  it  is  older  than 
that  of  Osiris.  In  the  text  of  Unas  (line  70)  he  is  associated  with 
the  Eye  of  Horus,  and  his  duty  as  the  guide  of  the  dead  in  the 
Underworld  on  their  way  to  Osiris  was  well  denned,  even  at  the 
remote  period  when  this  composition  was  written,  for  we  read, 
"  Unas  standeth  with  the  Spirits,  get  thee  onwards,  Anubis,  into 
"  Amenti  (the  Underworld),  onwards,  onwards  to  Osiris."  In  the 
lines  that  follow  we  see  that  Anubis  is  mentioned  in  connexion 
with  Horus,  Set,  Thoth,  Sep,  and  Khent-an-maati.  From  another 
passage  of  the  same  text  we  find  (line  207  ff.)  that  the  hand,  and 
arms,  and  belly,  and  legs  of  the  deceased  are  identified  with  Temu, 

but  his  face  is  said  to  be  in  the  form  of  that  of  Anubis,     ^     v<   ^a  . 

The   localities   in   which   Anubis   was    specially   worshipped    are 

Abt,    the   Papyrus    Swamps,    (1  c^  S  ^  ieeei  ,    Sep,    "^C,    Re-au, 
<7=><ffffc®>     Heru-ti,    ^'^~^©,    Ta-hetchet,    =^j[@,    Saiut, 


262  ANUBIS   AND    OSIRIS 

-—  1^%v  (111  ^T  (Lycopolis),  Sekhem,  ~^|\  1^©  (Leto- 
polis),1  etc.  In  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  he 
plays  some  very  prominent  parts,  the  most  important  of  all  being 
those  which  are  connected  with  the  judgment  and  the  embalming 
of  the  deceased.  Tradition  declared  that  Anubis  embalmed  the 
body  of  Osiris,  and  that  he  swathed  it  in  the  linen  swathings  which 
were  woven  by  Isis  and  Nephthys  for  their  brother ;  and  it  was 
believed  that  his  work  was  so  thoroughly  well  performed  under 
the  direction  of  Horus  and  Isis  and  Nephthys,  that  it  resisted  the 
influences  of  time  and  decay.  In  the  vignette  of  the  Funeral 
Procession  the  mummy  is  received  by  Anubis,  who  stands  by  the 
side  of  the  tomb  door ;  and  in  the  vignette  to  Chapter  cli.  of  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead  the  god  is  seen  standing  by  the  side  of  the 
mummy  as  it  lies  on  its  bier,  and  he  lays  his  protecting  hands  upon 
it.  In  the  speech  which  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  Anubis,  he  says, 
"I  have  come  to  protect  Osiris."  In  the  text  of  Unas  (line  219) 
the  nose  of  the  deceased  is  identified  with  the  nose  of  Anubis,  but 
in  the  xliind  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  the  deceased  declares, 
"  My  lips  are  the  lips  of  Anpu."  From  various  passages  it  is  clear 
that  in  one  part  of  Egypt  at  least  Anubis  was  the  great  god  of  the 
Underworld,  and  his  rank  and  importance  seem  to  have  been  as 
great  as  those  of  Osiris.     (See  Chapter  liii.) 

In  the  Judgment  Scene  Anubis  appears  to  act  for  Osiris,  with 
whom  he  is  intimately  connected,  for  it  is  he  whose  duty  it  is  to 
examine  the  tongue  of  the  Great  Balance,  and  to  take  care  that 
the  beam  is  exactly  horizontal.  Thoth  acts  on  behalf  of  the  Great 
Company  of  the  gods,  and  Anubis  not  only  produces  the  heart  of 
the  deceased  for  judgment,  but  also  takes  care  that  the  body  which 
has  been  committed  to  his  charge  shall  not  be  handed  over  to  the 
"Eater  of  the  Dead"  by  accident.  The  vignette  of  the  xxvith 
Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  as  given  in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani, 
represents  the  deceased  in  the  act  of  receiving  a  necklace  and 
pectoral  from  Anubis,  who  stands  by  grasping  his  sceptre ;  in  the 
vignette  of  the  Chapter  in  the  Papyrus  of  Nebseni  Anubis  is  seen 
presenting  the  heart  itself  to  the  deceased,  and  in  the  text  below 

1  Lanzone,  op.  cit.,  p.  68. 


ANUBIS,   the   God   of  the    Dead. 


DUTIES    OF   ANUBIS  263 

Nebseni  prays,  saying,  "  May  Anubis  make  my  thighs  firm  so  that 
"  I  may  stand  upon  them."  In  allusion  to  his  connexion  with 
the  embalmment  of  Osiris  the  god  Anubis  is  called  Am  Ut, 
0  -I  -  J\  C3 ,  i.e.,  "  Dweller  in  the  chamber  of  embalmment ;  "  as 
the  watcher  in  the  place  of  purification  wherein  rested  the  chest 
containing  the  remains  of  Osiris  he  was  called  Kiient  Sehet, 
Y  i.e.,  "  Governor  of  the  Hall  of  the  God  ;  "  and  one  of  his 
names   as   the   god    of    the    funeral    mountain    was    "  Tep-tu-f  " 

?  i  em  *^'  i,e  '  "lie  wll°  is  upon  his  hil1-"  In  tlie  cxlvtn  Chapter 
of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  the  deceased  says,  "  I  have  washed  myself 
"  in  the  water  wherein  the  god  Anpu  washed  when  he  had 
"  performed  the  office  of  embalmer  and  bandager ;  "  and  elsewhere 
the  deceased  is  told  (clxx.  4)  that  "  Anpu,  who  is  upon  his  hill, 
"  hath  set  thee  in  order,  and  he  hath  fastened  for  thee  thy 
"swathings,  thy  throat  is  the  throat  of  Anubis  (clxxii.  22),  and 
"  thy  face  is  like  that  of  Anubis  "  (clxxxi.  9). 

The  duty  of  guiding  the  souls  of  the  dead  round  about  the 
Underworld  and  into  the  kingdom  of  Osiris  was  shared  by  Anubis 
with  another  god  whose  type  and  symbol  was  a  jackal,  and  whose 

name  was  Ap-uat,  ^f^^?  or  \/?j^^|>  i-e-'  tne  "Opener 
of  the  ways  ;  "  formerly  Anubis  and  Ap-uat  were  considered  to  be 
two  names  of  one  and  the  same  god,  but  there  is  no  longer  any 
reason  for  holding  this  view.  In  the  vignette  to  the  cxxxviiith 
Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  we  find  represented  the  scene  of 
setting  up  the  standard  which  supports  the  box  that  held  the 
head  of  Osiris  at  Abydos.  On  each  side  of  it  are  a  standard  with 
a  figure  of  a  jackal  upon  it  and  a  pylon,  on  the  top  of  which  lies  a 
jackal ;  and  as  it  is  quite  clear  from  the  groups  of  objects  on  each 
side  of  the  standard  that  we  are  dealing  with  symbols  either  of  the 
South  and  the  North,  or  of  the  East  and  the  West,  we  are  justified 
in  thinking  that  one  jackal  represents  Ap-uat  and  the  other 
Anubis.  Moreover,  from  the  cxlvth  Chapter  we  find  that  the 
xxist  Pylon  of  the  House  of  Osiris  was  presided  over  by  seven 
gods,  among  whom  were  Ap-uat  and  Anpu,1  and  as  in  the  xviiith 

1  The  others  were  Tcber  or  At,  Hetep-mes,  Mes-sep,  Utch-re,  and  Beq. 


264  ANUBIS 

Chapter  (F.,  G.)  we  have  both  gods  mentioned,  and  each  is  depicted 
in  the  form  of  a  jackal-headed  man,  we  may  conclude  that  each 
was  a  distinct  god  of  the  dead,  although  their  identities  are  some- 
times confused  in  the  texts.  The  function  of  each  god  was  to 
"  open  the  ways,"  and  therefore  each  might  be  called  Ap-uat,  but, 
strictly  speaking,  Anubis  was  the  opener  of  the  roads  of  the  North, 
and  Ap-uat  the  opener  of  the  roads  of  the  South ;  in  fact,  Anubis 
was  the  personification  of  the  Summer  Solstice,  and  Ap-uat  of  the 
Winter  Solstice. 

Anubis  is  called  in  the  texts  Sekhem  em  pet,  and  is  often  said 
to  be  the  son  of  Osiris,  and  Ap-uat  bore  the  title  Sekhem  taui, 
and  was  a  form  of  Osiris  himself.  When,  therefore,  we  find  the 
two  jackals  upon  sepulchral  stelae,  we  must  understand  that  they 
appear  there  in  their  character  of  openers  of  the  ways  of  the 
deceased  in  the  kingdom  of  Osiris,  and  that  they  assure  to  the 
deceased  the  services  of  guides  in  the  northern  and  southern 
parts  of  heaven ;  when  they  appear  with   the   two  Utchats  thus, 


_£  ^a     ,  they  symbolize  the  four  quarters  of  heaven  and  of  earth, 

and  the  four  seasons  of  the  year.  On  the  subject  of  Anubis 
Plutarch  reports  (§§  44,  61)  some  interesting  beliefs.  After 
referring  to  the  view  that  Anubis  Avas  born  of  Nephthys,  although 
Isis  was  his  reputed  mother,  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  By  Anubis  they 
"  understand  the  horizontal  circle,  which  divides  the  invisible  part 
"  of  the  world,  which  they  call  Nephthys,  from  the  visible,  to  which 
"  they  give  the  name  of  Isis  ;  and  as  this  circle  equally  touches 
"  upon  the  confines  of  both  light  and  darkness,  it  may  be  looked 
"  upon  as  common  to  them  both — and  from  this  circumstance  arose 
"  that  resemblance,  which  they  imagine  between  Anubis  and  the  Dog, 
"  it  being  observed  of  this  animal,  that  he  is  equally  watchful  as 
"  well  by  day  as  night.  In  short,  the  Egyptian  Anubis  seems  to 
"  be  of  much  the  same  power  and  nature  as  the  Grecian  Hecate,  a 
"  deity  common  both  to  the  celestial  and  infernal  regions.  Others 
"  again  are  of  opinion  that  by  Anubis  is  meant  Time,  and  that  his 
"  denomination  of  Kuon  does  not  so  much  allude  to  any  likeness, 
"  which  he  has  to  the  dog,  though  this  be  the  general  rendering  of 
"  the  word,  as  to  that  other  signification  of  the  term  taken  from 


ANUBIS  265 

"  breeding ;  because  Time  begets  all  things  out  of  it  self,  bearing 
"  them  within  itself,  as  it  were  in  a  womb.  But  this  is  one  of  those 
"  secret  doctrines  which  are  more  fully  made  known  to  those  who 
"  are  initiated  into  the  worship  of  Anubis.  Thus  much,  however, 
"  is  certain,  that  in  ancient  times  the  Egyptians  paid  the  greatest 
"  reverence  and  honour  to  the  Dog,  though  by  reason  of  his  devour- 
"  ing  the  Apis  after  Cambyses  had  slain  him  and  thrown  him  out, 
"  when  no  other  animal  would  taste  or  so  much  as  come  near  him, 
"  he  then  lost  the  first  rank  among  the  sacred  animals  which  he  had 
"  hitherto  possessed."  Referring  to  Osiris  as  the  "  common  Reason 
"  which  pervades  both  the  superior  and  inferior  regions  of  the 
"universe,"  he  says  that  it   is,  moreover,    called   "Anubis,    and 

"  sometimes  likewise  Hermanubis  (i.e.,  v\    |\    Lil,  Heru- 

"  em-Anpu)  ;  the  first  of  these  names  expressing  the  relation  it  has 
"  to  the  superior,  as  the  latter,  to  the  inferior  world.  And  for 
"  this  reason  it  is,  they  sacrifice  to  him  two  Cocks,  the  one  white, 
"  as  a  proper  emblem  of  the  purity  and  brightness  of  things  above, 
"  the  other  of  a  saffron  colour,  expressive  of  that  mixture  and 
"  variety  which  is  to  be  found  in  those  lower  regions." 

Strictly  speaking,  Anubis  should  be  reckoned  as  the  last 
member  of  the  Great  Company  of  the  gods  of  Heliopolis,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  his  place  is  usually  taken  by  Horus,  the  son  of  Isis 
and  of  Osiris,  who  generally  completes  the  divine  paut;  it  is 
probable  that  the  fusion  of  Horus  with  Anubis  was  a  political 
expedient  on  the  part  of  the  priesthood  who,  finding  no  room  in 
their  system  for  the  old  god  of  the  dead,  identified  him  with  a 
form  of  Horus,  just  as  they  had  done  with  his  father  Set,  and 
then  mingled  the  attributes  of  the  two  £<xls.  Horus  and  Anubis 
thus  became  in  the  new  theology  a  duplicate  of  the  Horus  and  Set 
in  the  old,  and  the  double  god  possessed  two  distinct  and  opposite 
aspects ;  as  the  guide  of  heaven  and  the  leader  of  souls  to  Osiris 
he  was  a  beneficent  god,  but  as  the  personification  of  death  and 
decay  he  was  a  being  who  inspired  terror.  From  an  interesting 
passage  in  the  "Golden  Ass"  of  Apuleius  (Book  xi.)  we  find  that 
the  double  character  of  Anubis  was  maintained  by  his  votaries  in 
Rome  even  in  the  second  century  of  our  era,  and  in  describing  the 


2(56  ANUBIS 

Procession  of  Isis  lie  says,  "  Immediately  after  these  came  the 
"  Deities,  condescending  to  walk  npon  human  feet,  the  foremost 
"  among  them  rearing  terrifically  on  high  his  dog's  head  and 
"neck — that  messenger  between  heaven  and  hell  displaying 
"  alternately  a  face  black  as  night,  and  golden  as  the  day ;  in  his 
"  left  the  caduceus,  in  his  right  waving  aloft  the  green  palm 
"  branch.  His  steps  were  closely  followed  by  a  cow,  raised  into 
"  an  upright  posture — the  cow  being  the  fruitful  emblem  of  the 
"  Universal  Parent,  the  goddess  herself,  which  one  of  the  happy 
"train  carried  with  majestic  steps,  supported  on  his  shoulders. 
"  By  another  was  borne  the  coffin  containing  the  sacred  things, 
"  and  closely  concealing  the  deep  secrets  of  the  holy  religion." 

This  extract  shows  that  even  in  the  second  century  at  Rome 
the  principal  actors  in  the  old  Egyptian  Osiris  ceremonial  were 
represented  with  scrupulous  care,  and  that  its  chief  characteristics 
were  preserved.  The  cow  was,  of  course,  nothing  less  than  the 
symbol  of  Isis,  "  the  mother  of  the  god,"  and  the  coffin  containing 
the  "  sacred  things  "  was  the  symbol  of  the  sarcophagus  of  Osiris 
which  contained  his  relics.  Before  these  fitly  inarched  Anubis  in 
his  two-fold  character,  and  thus  we  have  types  of  Osiris  and  his 
mysteries,  and  of  Isis  who  revivified  him,  and  of  Anubis  who 
embalmed  him.  Had  Apuleius  understood  the  old  Egyptian 
ceremonies  connected  with  the  Osiris  legend  and  had  he  been  able 
to  identify  all  the  characters  who  passed  before  him  in  the  Isis 
procession,  4ie  would  probably  have  seen  that  Nephthys  and  Horus 
and  several  other  gods  of  the  funeral  company  of  Osiris  were  duly 
represented  therein.  On  the  alleged  connexion  of  Anubis  with 
Christ  in  the  Gnostic  system  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  interest- 
ing work  of  Mr.  C.  W.  King,  Gnostics  and  their  Remains,  Second 
Edition,  London,  1887,  pp.  230,  279. 


(      267     ) 


CHAPTER    XVI 

CIPPI    OF    HORUS 

IN  connexion  with  the  god  Horus  and  his  forms  as  the  god  of 
the  rising  sun  and  the  symbol  and  personification  of  Light 
must  be  mentioned  a  comparatively  numerous  class  of  small 
rounded  stelae  on  convex  bases,  on  the  front  of  which  are  sculptured 
in  relief  figures  of  the  god  Horus  standing  upon  two  crocodiles. 
These  curious  and  interesting  objects  are  made  of  basalt  and  other 
kinds  of  hard  stone,  and  of  calcareous  stone,  and  they  vary  in 
height  from  3  ins.  to  20  ins.  ;  they  were  used  as"  talismans  by  the 
Egyptians,  who  placed  them  in  their  houses  and  gardens,  and  even 
buried  them  in  the  ground  to  protect  themselves  and  their 
property  from  the  attacks  of  noxious  beasts,  and  reptiles,  and 
insects  of  every  kind.  In  addition  to  the  figures  of  Horus  and  of 
the  animals  over  which  he  gained  the  victory,  and  the  sceptres, 
emblems,  etc.,  which  are  sculptured  upon  cippi  of  Horus,  the 
backs,  sides,  and  bases  are  usually  covered  Avith  magical  texts. 
The  ideas  suggested  by  the  figures  and  the  texts  are  extremely  old, 
but  the  grouping  and  arrangement  of  them  which  are  found  on  the 
stelae  under  consideration  are  not  older  than  the  XXVIth  Dynasty ; 
it  is  doubtful  if  this  class  of  objects  came  into  general  use  very 
much  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  period  of  the  Persian  occupation 
of  Egypt.  The  various  museums  of  Europe  contain  several 
examples  of  cippi,  but  the  largest,  and  finest,  and  most  important, 
is  undoubtedly  that  which  is  commonly  known  as  the  "  Metternich 
Stele ;  " l  it  was  found  in  the  year  1828  during  the  building  of  a 
cistern  in  a  Franciscan  monastery  in  Alexandria,  and  was  pre- 
sented by  Muhammad  'Ali  Pasha  to  Prince  Metternich.  We  are, 
fortunately,  enabled  to  date  the  stele,  for  the  name  of  Nectanebus  I., 

1  See  Mettemichstele,  ed.  Golenischeff,  Leipzig,  1877,  pi.  3,  1.  48  fE. 


268 


METTERNICH   STELE 


the  last  but  one  of  the  native  kings 
of  Egypt,  who  reigned  from  B.C.  378 
to  B.C.  360,  occurs  on  it,  and  it  is  clear 
from  several  considerations  that  such  a 
monument  could  have  been  produced 
only  about  this  period.  On  the  front 
of  the  stele  (see  page  271)  we  have  the 
following  figures  and  scenes  : — 

1.  The  solar  disk  wherein  is  seated 
the  four-fold  god  Khnemu,  who  re- 
presents the  gods  of  the  four  elements, 
earth,  air,  fire,  and  water,  resting 
between  LJ,  which  is  supported  on  a 
lake  of  water ;  on  each  side  of  it  stand 
four  apes,  with  their  paws  stretched 
out  in  adoration.  No  names  are  given 
to  the  apes  here,  but  we  may  find 
them  in  a  text  at  Edfu1  where  they 

called  : — 1.   Aaan, 


are 


2.    Bentet, 
Sept,      ^ 


ID 
5.  Ap 


>*^. 


TEN, 


■V) 

8.    Utennu, 


D  X   J3 

Kehkeh, 


3.  Hetet- 

4.  Qeften, 
6.  As- 


o  © 


Side  of  the  Stele. 


The  Bentet  apes  praised  the  morning 
sun,  and  the  Utennu  apes  praised  the 
evening  sun,  and  the  Sun-god  was 
pleased  both  with  their  words  and 
with  their  voices.  On  the  right 
hand  side  is  a  figure  of  king  Nec- 
tanebus  kneeling  before  a  lotus 
standard,  with  plumes  and  mendts, 
and    on    the    left    is    the    figure    of 

1  Duemiclien,  Tempelinschriften,  i.,  26. 


METTEHNICH   STELE 


269 


the  god  Thoth  holding  a  palette   in 
his  left  hand. 

2.  In  this  register  we  have  (a) 
Ptah-Seker-Asar  standing  on  croco- 
diles, the  gods  Amsu  and  Khepera 
standing  on  /=d  pedestals,  Khas, 
a  lion -headed  god,  Thoth,  Serqet 
and  Hathor  grouped  round  a  god 
who  is  provided  with  the  heads  of 
seven  birds  and  animals,  and  four 
wings,  and  two  horns  surmounted  by 
four  uraei  and  four  knives,  and  who 
stands  upon  two  crocodiles,  (b)  Ta- 
urt  holding  a  crocodile  by  a  chain  or 
rope  which  a  hawk-headed  god  is 
about  to  spear  in  the  presence  of 
Isis,  Nephthys,  and  four  other  deities, 
etc. 

3.  Isis  holding  Horus  in  her 
outstretched  right  hand,  and  stand- 
ins:  on  a  crocodile.  Thoth.  Standard 
of  Nekhebet.  Horus,  with  a  human 
phallus,  and  a  lion,  on  a  lake  (?) 
containing  two  crocodiles.  Seven 
halls  or  lakes,  each  guarded  by  a 
o-od.  A  lion  treading  on  a  crocodile, 
which  lies  on  its  back,  four  gods, 
a  lion  standing  on  the  back  of  a 
crocodile,  a  vulture,  a  god  embrac- 
ing a  goddess,  and  three  goddesses. 

4.  Horus  spearing  a  crocodile 
which  is  led  captive  by  Ta-urt.  The 
four  children  of  Horus.  Neith  and 
the  two  crocodile  gods.  Harpocrates 
seated  upon  a  crocodile  under  a 
serpent.  A  lion,  two  scorpions  and 
an    oryx,    symbols    of    Set.     Seven 


Side  of  the  Stele. 


270  METT'ERNICH    STELE 

serpents  having  their  tails  pierced  by  arrows  or  darts.  A  king 
in  a  chariot  drawn  by  the  fabulous  Akhekh  animal  which  gallops 
over  two  crocodiles.  Horus  standing  on  the  back  of  the  oryx, 
emblem  of  Set. 

5.  A  miscellaneous  group  of  gods,  nearly  all  of  whom  are 
forms  of  the  Sun-god  and  are  gods  of  reproduction  and 
regeneration. 

6.  A  hawk  god,  with  dwarf's  legs,  and  holding  bows  and 
arrows.  Horus  standing  on  an  oryx  (Set).  A  cat  on  a  pedestal. 
An-her  spearing  an  animal.  Uraeus  on  the  top  of  a  staircase.  The 
ape  of  Thoth  on  a  pylon.  Two  Utchats,  the  solar  disk,  and  a 
crocodile.  Ptah-Seker-Asar.  The  Horus  of  gold.  Serpent  with 
a  disk  on  his  head.  A  group  of  solar  gods  followed  by  Ta-urt 
and  Bes. 

7.  In  this  large  scene  Horus  stands  with  his  feet  upon  the 
backs  of  two  crocodiles,  and  he  grasps  in  his  hands  the  reptiles  and 
animals  which  are  the  emblems  of  the  foes  of  light  and  of  the 
powers  of  evil.  He  wears  the  lock  of  youth,  and  above  his  head  is 
the  head  of  the  old  god  Bes,  who  here  symbolizes  the  Sun-god  at 
eventide.  The  canopy  under  which  he  stands  is  held  up  by  Thoth 
and  Isis,  each  of  whom  stands  upon  a  coiled  up  serpent,  which  has 
a  knife  stuck  in  his  forehead.  Above  the  canopy  are  the  two 
Utchats,  with  human  hands  and  arms  attached,  and  within  it  by 
the  sides  of  the  god  are: — 1.  Horus-Ra  standing  on  a  coiled  up 
serpent.  2.  A  lotus  standard,  with  plumes  and  mendts.  3.  A 
papyrus  standard  surmounted  by  a  figure  of  a  hawk  wearing  the 

y>l    Crown. 

On  the  back  of  the  Stele  we  have  a  figure  of  the  aged  Sun-god 
in  the  form  of  a  man-hawk,  and  he  has  above  his  head  the  heads  of 
a  number  of  animals,  e.g.,  the  oryx  and  the  crocodile,  and  a  pair 
of  horns  upon  which  rest  W ,  and  eight  knives.  He  has  four 
human  arms,  to  two  of  which  wings  are  attached,  and  in  each  hand 
he  grasps  two  serpents,  11,  two  knives,  ^^^^,  and  "life,"  ■¥•, 
i ' stability,"  u,  and  "power,"  j;  and  numbers  of  figures  of  gods. 
His  two  other  human  arms  are  not  attached  to  wings,  and  in  one 
hand  he  holds  the  symbol  of  "  life,"  and  in  the  other  a  sceptre. 


METTERNICH   STELE 


271 


From  the  head  of  the  god  proceed  jets  of  fire,  1 1  ,  and  on  each  side 
of  him  is   an   Utchat,  which  is  provided  with  human  hands  and 


f^mmmmAMmikkkk 


The  Metternich  Stele  (Obverse). 


arms.     The  god  stands  upon  an  oval,  within  which  are  figures  of  a 
lion,  two  serpents,  a  jackal,  a  crocodile,  a  scorpion,  a  hippopotamus, 


272  METTERNICH    STELE 

and  a  turtle.  Below  this  relief  are  five  rows  of  figures  of  gods  aud 
mythological  scenes,  many  of  which  are  taken  from  the  vignettes 
of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead.  The  gods  and  goddesses  are  for  the 
most  part  solar  deities  who  were  believed  to  be  occupied  at  all  times 
in  overcoming  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  they  were  sculptured 
on  the  Stele  that  the  sight  of  them  might  terrify  the  fiends  and 
prevent  them  from  coining  nigh  unto  the  place  where  it  was  set  up. 
There  is  not  a  god  of  any  importance  whose  figure  is  not  on  it,  and 
there  is  not  a  demon,  or  evil  animal,  or  reptile  who  is  not  depicted 
upon  it  in  a  vanquished  state. 

The  texts  inscribed  upon  the  Stele  are  as  interesting  as  the 
figures  of  the  s;ods,  and  relate  to  events  which  were  believed  to 
have  taken  place  in  the  lives  of  Isis,  Horus,  etc.  The  first  compo- 
sition is  called  the  "  Chapter  of  the  incantation  of  the  Cat,"1  and 
contains  an  address  to  Ra,  who  is  besought  to  come  to  his  daughter, 
for  she  has  been  bitten  by  a  scorpion ;  the  second  composition, 
which  is  called  simply  "  another  Chapter,"  has  contents  somewhat 
similar  to  those  of  the  first.  The  third  text  is  addressed  to  the 
"  Old  Man  who  becometh  young  in  his  season,  the  Aged  One  who 
"  maketh  himself  a  child  again."  The  fourth  and  following  texts 
contain  a  narrative  of  the  troubles  of  Isis  which  were  caused  by 
the  malice  of  Set,  and  of  her  wanderings  from  city  to  city  in  the 
Delta,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Papyrus  Swamps.  The 
principal  incident  is  the  death  of  her  son  Horus,  which  took  place 
whilst  she  was  absent  in  a  neighbouring  city,  and  was  caused  by 
the  bite  of  a  scorpion ;  in  spite  of  all  the  care  which  Isis  took  in 
hiding  her  son,  a  scorpion  managed  to  make  its  way  into  the  presence 
of  the  boy,  and  it  stung  him  until  he  died.  When  Isis  came 
back  and  found  her  child's  dead  body  she  was  distraught  and 
frantic  with  grief,  and  was  inconsolable  until  Nephthys  came  and 
advised  her  to  appeal  to  Thoth,  the  lord  of  words  of  power.  She 
did  so  straightway,  and  Thoth  stopped  the  Boat  of  Millions  of  Years 
in  which  Ra,  the  Sun-god,  sailed,  and  came  down  to  earth  in 
answer  to  her  cry  ;  Thoth  had  already  provided  her  with  the  words 
of  power  which  enabled  her  to  raise  up  Osiris  from  the  dead,  and 


AAAAAA 

AAAAAA 


5  Uh- 

AAAA        *?       1     J=\l 


METTEHNICH   STELE 


27; 


he  now  bestowed  upon  her  the  means  of  restoring  Horus  to  life,  by 
supplying  her  with  a  series  of  incantations  of  irresistible  might. 


^2?HTa<£  P£  n~WWW£T^K,±wt\i£:{:%.&Z) 


:W.UA^L  €«SS«PWKr**T5/i  rXSMZjlgU<h?£<& 


TH^^lTm^B\^M^,k-l]im%l 


:l+~ 


^z^^t^2^j\r:^BW^m^ 


f^&Lt£,tr~YlXLX 


rfBTtf-tZZllA&m 


I  I    D.    r~r~*    -Zt~L.  I    I 


•?i\ 


rhJ 


^ijrtf.'yf5rs*£fh.^5^frirrr:^fcvrfas<ff 


^a^tffeBfci^iri^s^ctrrsiKffiRueix* 


agiwus4^,^^^rgvfifcWfl:»si^?2o^ti»'i^: 


fcHeSSJJlitC&IlLi^ftPPo.fcLl^f 


>   5 


;rp£irf»iij;roti¥P^si,i^r^fe^M:i 


The  Metternicli  Stele  (Reverse). 

These  Isis  recited  with  due  care,  and  in  the  proper  tone  of  voice, 
and  the  poison  was  made  to  go  forth  from  the  body  of  Horus,  and 
his  strength  was  renewed,  his  heart  once  more  occupied  its  throne, 

II — T 


274  METTERNICH   STELE 

and  all  was  well  with  him.  Heaven  and  earth  rejoiced  at  the  sight 
of  the  restoration  of  the  heir  of  Osiris,  and  the  gods  were  filled 
with  peace  and  content. 

The  Avhole  Stele  on  which  these  texts  and  figures  are  found  is 
nothing  but  a  talisman,  or  a  gigantic  amulet  engraved  with  magical 
forms  of  gods  and  words  of  power,  and  it  was,  undoubtedly,  placed 
in  some  conspicuous  place  in  a  courtyard  or  in  a  house  to  protect 
the  building  and  its  inmates  from  the  attacks  of  hostile  beings,  both 
visible  and  invisible,  and  its  power  was  believed  to  be  invincible. 
The  person  who  had  been  stung  or  bitten  by  a  scorpion  or  any 
noxious  beast  or  reptile  was  supposed  to  recite  the  incantations 
which  Thoth  had  given  to  Isis,  and  which  had  produced  such 
excellent  results,  and  the  Egyptians  believed  that  because  these 
words  had  on  one  occasion  restored  the  dead  to  life,  they  would, 
whensoever  they  were  uttered  in  a  suitable  tone  of  voice,  and  with 
appropriate  gestures  and  ceremonies,  never  fail  to  produce  a  like 
effect.  A  knowledge  of  the  gods  and  of  the  magical  texts  on  the 
Stele  was  thought  to  make  its  possessor  master  of  all  the  powers  of 
heaven,  and  of  earth,  and  of  the  Underworld. 


(     275     ) 


CHAPTER     XVIII 
FOREIGN     GODS 

IF  we  consider  for  a  moment  it  will  at  once  be  apparent  from 
the   geographical   position  of  Egypt  that  her  people  must 
have  been  brought  in  contact  with  a  large  number  of  foreign  gods, 
and  that  in  certain  places  a  few  must  have  become  more  or  less 
identified  with  Egytian  gods  of  similar  attributes  and  characteristics. 
As  a  rule  Orientals  have  always  been  exceedingly  tolerant  of  alien 
gods,  and  the  Egyptians  formed  no  exception  to  the  rule  ;  there  is, 
moreover,  in  the  Egyptian  inscriptions,  no  evidence  that  they  ever 
tried  to  suppress  the  gods  of  the  races  they  conquered,  though  we 
may  assume  that  they  never  failed,  whenever  it  was  possible,  to 
carry  off  the  images  of  foreign  gods,  because  in  so  doing   they 
displayed  the  superior  power  of  the  gods  of  Egypt,  and  destroyed 
the   religious   and    political  importance    of   the  cities  and  towns 
wherein  the  shrines  of  the  foreign  gods  were  situated.     It  is  not  at 
present   possible   to   decide  which  gods  were   indigenous   to   the 
Valley  of  the  Nile,  and  which  were  of  Libyan  origin,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  a  number  of   Libyan  gods  were  adopted  by  the 
dwellers  in  the  Western  Delta,  in  predynastic  times,  and  that  they 
had  become  to  all  intents  and  purposes  Egyptian  gods  under  the 
rule  of  the  kings  of  the  1st  Dynasty.     Among  such  deities  may  be 
mentioned   Net,  or  Neith,  of  Sal's,  Bast  of  Bubastis,  and  it  is  very 
probable  that  Osiris  and  his  cycle  of  gods,  though  perhaps  under 
different  names,  were  also  of  Libyan  origin.     Under  the  IV th  and 
Vth  Dynasties  the  cult  of    Ra,  the   Sun-god,  spread  with  great 
rapidity  in  the  Delta  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Heliopolis,  and 
his  priests,  as  we  have  seen,  obtained  almost  kingly  influence  in  the 


276 


QETESH   AND   ANTHAT 


country.  There  is  no  reason  for  doubting  that  the  Sun  was 
worshipped  in  the  earliest  times  in  Egypt,  but  the  form  of  his 
worship,  as  approved  and  promulgated  by  the  priests  of  Heliopolis, 
appears  to  have  differed  from  that  which  was  current  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  possessed  something 
of    an   Asiatic    character.     The    foreign   gods   who    succeeded    in 


l\\\\\llllllllllllllllllllllfTlilllllllllllllllllHlllllllllllllllllllll/WI 


The  goddess  Qetesh  standing  on  a  lion  between  Min  and  Keshpu. 


obtaining  a  place  in  the  affections  of  the  Egyptians  were  of  Libyan 
and  Semitic  origin,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  borrowed 
any  deity,  except  Bes,  from  Nubia,  or  the  country  still  further  to 
the  south  of  Egypt. 

First  among  the  foreign   deities  who  are  made  known  to  us 


ANT HAT 

by  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  is  Anthat,         d  1  (]  ^  f)n  ,] 


277 
a  sroddess 


who  is  called  the  lady  of  heaven,  and  the  mistress  of  the  gods,  and 
who  was  said  to  conceive  offspring  but  not  to  bring  them  to  the 
birth ;  she  is  declared  to  have  been  produced  by  Set,  but  it  is 
probable  that  this  origin  was  assigned  to  her  only  after  her  cult 
was  well  established  in  Egypt.  She  is  depicted  in  the  form  of  a 
woman  seated  on  a  throne  or  standing  upright ;  in  the  former 
position  she  grasps  a  shield  and  spear  in  her  right  hand  and  wields 


Anthat. 


a  club  in  her  left,  and  in  the  latter  she  wears  a  panther  skin  and 
holds  a  papyrus  sceptre  in  the  right  hand  and  the  emblem  of  "  life  " 
in  her  left.  She  wears  the  White  Crown  with  feathers  attached, 
and  sometimes  this  has  a  pair  of  horns  at  the  base.  Anthat  was, 
undoubtedly,  a  war  goddess,  and  her  cult  seems  to  have  extended 
throughout  Northern  and  Southern  Syria,  where  certain  cities  and 


1  Variant  forms  of  her  name  are  Annutliat,  /v^yvN  ^\   A  (I       IX  , 


0 


and  Antit, 


278  'ASHTORETH 


towns,  e.g.,  Bath-Anth,  J  A^?  ~*  ^^ ■  n^v^,  and  Qarth-Anthu, 
|~zil  "%\  "^"^  s=>  1  \J> ,  were  dedicated  to  her  worship.1     The 

worship  of  the  goddess  Anthat  appears  to  have  made  its  way  into 
Egypt  soon  after  the  Egyptians  began  to  form  their  Asiatic 
Empire,  and  from  an  inscription  published  by  Virey 2  we  learn  that 
a  shrine  was  built  in  her  honour  at  Thebes  in  the  reign  of  Thothmes 
III.  This,  however,  is  only  what  might  be  expected,  for  Thothmes 
III.  must  have  brought  large  numbers  of  Syrians  with  him  into 
Egypt,  and  many  of  them  undoubtedly  found  a  home  at  Thebes. 
The  goddess  was  honoured  by  Rameses  II.  of  the  XlXth  Dynasty, 
and  this  monarch  went  so  far  as  to  call  one  of  his  daughters  Banth- 


Anth,  ("fe?,  |  |Jsl»  *-e*'  daughter  of  Anth.  Finally  we  may 
note  in  passing  that  a  goddess  called  Anthretha,   gg^  |  (j  jJL  , 

is  mentioned  with  Sutekh  in  the  great  treaty  between  the  Kheta 
and  the  Egyptians,  and  it  is  probable  that  she  and  Anthat  are  one 
and  the  same  goddess. 

In     connexion     with     Anthat     the     goddess     Astharthet, 

=^  (j  <  >  °  J)  t  i.e.,  Ashtoreth,  is  sometimes  mentioned  in 
Egyptian  texts,  and  she  is  called  "  mistress  of  horses,  lady  of  the 
chariot,  dweller  in  Apollinopolis  Magna"  (Edfu),  |  £  ^rz^rz^  ^  j 

^-^^^nfj    °    ^%s=5il^.3    Conformably  to  this  description 

the  goddess  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a  woman  with  the  head 
of  a  lioness,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  disk,  and  she  stands  in  a 
chariot  drawn  by  four  horses  and  drives  over  her  prostrate 
foes.  The  cult  of  ilstharthet  was  comparatively  widespread  in 
Egypt  at  the  time  when  the  priest-kings  began  to  reign,  and  it 
nourished  in  the  Delta,  at  least,  until  Christian  times.  It  cannot, 
however,  have  been  introduced  into  Egypt  much  earlier  than  the 
beginning  of  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty,  and  it  was  probably  not  well 
established  until  the  reign  of  Amen-hetep  III.     In  a  letter  from 

1  See  Miiller,  W.  M.,  Asien  unci  Europa,  p.  195. 

2  Tombeau  cle  Khem  {Memoir es  Miss.  Arch.  Fr.,  torn,  v.,  p.  368). 

3  See  Aeg.  Zeitschrift,  1869,  p.  3  ff. ;  Naville,  Mythe  cVHorus,  pi.  4. 


'ASHTORETH 


279 


Tushratta,  king  of  Mitani,  to  this  king  he  refers  to  the  going  down 
of  "Ishtar  of  Nineveh  (i.e.,  Ashtoreth,  or  Astharthet),  lady  of  the 
world,"  into  Egypt,  both  during  his  own  reign  and  that  of  his 
father,1  and  he  seems  to  indicate  that  her  worship  in  Egypt  had 
declined,  and  begs  Amen-hetep  to  make  it  to  increase  tenfold. 
From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  Egyptians  adopted  the  worship 
of  the  Syrian  goddess  at  or  about  the  time  when  Thothmes  III. 
was  engaged  in  conquering  Ruthennu  and  Palestine  and  Syria. 
In  Egypt  Astharthet,  or 
Ashtoreth,  or  Ishtar,  was 
identified  with  one  of  the 


in 


forms  of  Hathor,  or 

Hathor, 

XVIIIth 

she 


Isis- 
the 
and 

both 
and 


early 
Dynasty, 
was  regarded 
as  a  Moon-goddess, 
as  a  terrible  and  destroy- 
ing goddess  of  war.  As 
a  war-goddess  she  was  the 
driver  of  the  rampant 
war-maddened  horses  and 
the  guide  of  the  rushing 
chariot  on  the  field  of 
battle,  and  this  considera- 
tion shows  that  as  a  god- 
dess of  horses  she  was 
unknown  in  Egypt  be- 
fore the  XVI  Ilth  Dynasty. 
The  Egyptians  learned 
to  employ  the  horse  in  war  from  the  Semites  of  the  Eastern  Desert, 
and  their  knowledge  of  the  value  of  that  animal  for  charging  and 
for  drawing  war-chariots  is  not  older  than  about  B.C.  1800. 

Closely  akin  to  Astharthet  was  the  goddess  Qetesh,  \  *~*  (X  ," 

who  was  also  called  the  "  mistress  of  all  the  gods,  the  eye  of  Ra, 

1   The  Tell  el-Amarna  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum,  p.  xlii. 


'Ashtoreth. 


Variant, 


r~rc~i 


^H'Qet 


ETSHU. 


280 


AASITH 


o 


111 


$G\ 


without    a    second," 

^  A    ^  I       I       I       I         I         I     ^  I  I  WAAA     O 

She,  like  Astharthet,  was  regarded  in  Egypt  as  a  form  of  Hathor, 
the  goddess  of  love  and  beauty,  and  as  a  Moon-goddess.  She  is 
represented  in  the  form  of  an  absolutely  naked  woman,  Avho  stands 
upon  a  lion  ;  on  her  head  she  wears  a  crescent  and  disk,  O,  which 
prove  her  connexion  with  the  Moon.  The  later  representations 
of  Qetesh  depict  her  in  the  same  attitude,  but  they  give  her  the 
peculiar  headdress  of  Hathor,  and  she  wears  a  deep  necklace  or 
collar  and  a  tight-fitting  garment  which  is  held  up  on  her  shoulders 
by  two  straps,  and  which  extends  to  her  ankles.     In  her  right 

hand  she  holds  lotus  flowers  and 
a  mirror  (?),  and  in  her  left  two 
serpents.  It  is  important  to 
note  that,  like  Bes,  she  is  always 
represented  full  face.  On  a  stele 
in  the  British  Museum  (No.  191), 
we  see  the  goddess,  who  is  here 

called  "Kent  (^™Pn)>  lady  of 
heaven,"  standing  on  a  lion 
between  Amsu,  ^f~,  or  Min, 
and  Reshpu,  and  with  these  gods 
she  appears  to  form  a  Semitic 
triad,  but  it  is  not  clear  which  of 
these  two  gods  was  her  son,  and 
which  was  her  husband.  In  any 
case,  Qetesh  must  have  been  wor- 
shipped as  a  nature  goddess,  and 
it  was  probably  the  licentiousness  of  her  worship,  at  all  events  in 
Syria,  which  gave  to  the  Hebrew  word  nvfij)  the  meaning  which 
it  bears  in  the  Bible.1 

Another  foreign  goddess  of  interest  is  Aasith, 


Qetash. 


w 


m. 


who  is  represented  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  armed  with  shield  and 
club,  riding  a  horse  into  the  battle  field.     In  her  Midler 2  sees  a 


1  Gen.  xxxviii.  21,  22  ;  Dent,  xxiii.  18  ;   Numbers  xxv.  ]  ;   Hosea  iv.  14. 

2  Asien  unci  Europa,  p.  316. 


BAR-BAAL  281 

female  form  of  the  hunter  Esau,  wy,  who,  under  the  form  Usoos, 
was  regarded  as  a  god  who  wore  skins  and  was  appeased  by  means 
of  blood  offerings.  That  she  was  a  goddess  of  war  and  of  the 
desert  is  clear  from  a  relief,  which  is  found  on  a  stele  near  the 
building  beside  the  temple  set  up  by  Seti  I.  at  Redesiyeh  in  the 
Eastern  Desert,  on  the  road  to  the  gold  mines  of  Mount  Zabara. 
The  greatest  of  all  the  Syrian  gods  known  to  the  Egyptians 

was  Bar,  J  TsJ,  or  Pa-Bar,   AK    J  p^l,  i.e.,  Baal,  the 

^tf?j  of  the  Hebrews.  Bar  appears  to  have  been  a  god  of  the 
mountain  and  the  desert,  and  his  worship  was  introduced  into 
Egypt  under  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty.  Like  most  of  the  Semitic 
gods  and  goddesses  he  was  primarily  a  god  of  war  and  battle,  and 
he  may  have  been  a  personification  of  the  burning  and  destroying 
heat  of  the  sun  and  blazing  desert  wind.  To  the  Egyptians  of  the 
Delta  he  soon  became  familiar,  and  as  he  was  supposed  to  be  the 
god  who  supported  their  foes  the  Syrians  in  many  a  hard-fought 
battle  they  regarded  him  with  a  certain  awe  and  reverence.  Of 
his  form  and  worship  we  know  nothing,  but  the  Egyptians  placed 
after  their  transliterations  of  his  name  a  figure  of  the  fabulous 
animal  in  which  the  god  Set  became  incarnate,  and  it  is  clear 
that  they  must  have  believed  Bar  and  Set  to  have  qualities 
and  attributes  in  common.  Rameses  II.  boasts  in  his  triumphal 
inscriptions  that  when  he  put  on  his  panoply  of  war,  and  mounted 
his  chariot,  and  set  out  to  attack  the  Kheta  soldiery  he  was  like 
the  god  Bar,  and  we  are  justified  in  assuming  from  this  and  similar 
passages  that  the  king  of  Egypt  was  proud  to  compare  himself  to 
the  mighty  Syrian  war-god.  Bar  was  worshipped  in  the  Delta, 
chiefly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tanis,  where  Rameses  II.  carried 
out  such  extensive  building  operations,  and  where  a  temple  of  the 
god  existed. 

Here   for   the    sake  of  convenience    may   be   mentioned   the 

goddess  Bairtha,  J'^llQrfj!  i-e<>  Ba'alath,  or  Beltis,  of 
Tchapuna,  J  ^\  p  °V  1  $  >  in  ful1  Bairtha  Tchapuna  or  Ba'alath- 
Sephon,  who  may  be  regarded  as  the  female  counterpart  of  the 
Ba'al-Seph6n  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  but  not  as  the  wife  of  Bar. 


282 


RESHPU 


The  city  here  referred  to  is  on  the  borders  of  Egypt  (see  Exodus 
xiv.  2).  Another  city  or  district  of  the  same  name  was  situated  in 
"  Northern  Phoenicia," *  and  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  of 
Tiglath-Pileser  II.  under  the  form  Ba-'-li  Sa-pu-na  ^  *^zj  4fc*-*f- 
>-fc:£E=y<|  ^  ^>—  ^^T-  ^-n  a  fragmentary  inscription  of  Esarhaddon 
(Kuyunjik  fragment,  No.  3500,  col.  iv.,  line  10)  the  god  Ba'al- 
Sephon  is  mentioned,  together  with  other  Phoenician  gods,  in  a 
series  of  curses,  and  these  are  invoked  to  bring  down  upon  the 
ships  an  evil  wind  which  shall  destroy  both  them  and  their  rigging. 

In  this  fragment  allusion  is  also 
made  to  Baal  Sameme  (&£&  ^?) 
and  -Baal  Malagi,  and  all  three  are 
said  to  be  the  "  gods  across  the 
river,"  w-J  Jw^  tfl  &£%E  ]}  £?, 
Hani  ebir  ndri.2 

On  the  stele  in  the  British 
Museum,  No.  191,  as  has  already 
been  said,  we  meet  with  another 
Syrian    god    called    Reshpu, 

D  y^cjjj  his  cu^  enjoyed  a  wide 
popularity  in  Syria,  where  he  was 
regarded  as  a  god  of  war.  Signor 
Lanzone  compares  him  to  the  Apollo 
Amyclaeus  of  the  Greeks.3  In  the 
Egyptian  texts  he  is  described  as 
the  "  great  god,  the  lord  of  eternity, 
"  the  prince  of  everlastingness,  the 
"  lord  of  two-fold  strength  among 
the  company  of  the  gods  ;   great  god,  lord  of  heaven,  governor  of 


Reshpu. 


"the  gods,  c|  |<=>  |o|  j^^ 

Mill 


@  w 


ft£]  =  ^o\ 


©  1 1: 

o    III    I        I  c 


D   o 


The   chief  centre   of  his  wor 


1  Miiller,  Asien  mid  Eur  op  a,  p.  315. 

2  I  owe  this  reference  to  Mr.  R.  C.  Thompson  of  the  British  Museum. 

3  Dizionario,  p.  483. 


SUTEKH-GODS  283 

ship  was  at   Het-Reshp,    J  r^n  Jn,  in  the   Delta,  but   it   is  very 

probable  that  he  was  specially  worshipped  at  many  small  provincial 
shrines  on  the  eastern  frontier  of  Egypt.  He  is  represented  in  the 
form  of  a  warrior  who  holds  a  shield  and  spear  in  his  left  hand,  and 
a  club  in  his  right ;  on  his  head  he  wears  the  White  Crown,  round 
the  base  of  which  is  bound  a  turban.  Above  his  forehead,  project- 
ing from  his  turban,  is  the  head  of  a  gazelle,  which  appears  to  be  a 
very  ancient  symbol  of  the  god,  and  to  indicate  his  sovereignty 
over  the  desert.  Reshpu  is  connected  with  the  god  who  was 
known  to  the  Phoenicians  under  the  name  of  =!#"},  and  was,  no 
doubt,  a  god  of  burning  and  destructive  fire,  and  of  the  lightning. 
Opinions  differ  as  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  name  *)$?,  some 
reading  "  Reshef,"  i.e.,  "lightning,"  and  others  "  RashsMf,"  i.e., 
"  he  who  shoots  out  fire  and  lightning "  ;  the  Egyptian  transcrip- 
tion Reshpu  supports  the  first  opinion,  and  from  every  point  of 
view  it  seems  to  be  the  correct  one. 

The  existence  of  yet  another  Syrian  god  has  been  pointed  out 

by  Midler,1  who  in  the  Egyptian  Atuma,  n  ^  v\  a □  ,  or  Athuma, 

j\  (l  v\  ,  sees  the  equivalent  of  the  D7N  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures ;  the  female  counterpart  of  the  god  appears  under  the 
form  of  Atuma,  (j  gA  ^  -Jbva  3 .  Finally,  among  the  Western 
Syrians  Miiller  has  quoted  the  existence  of  two  goddesses  called 

Ennukaru,    5^^=^^<7>^   ancl    Amait,    ^^I](l\^- 

In  the  list  of  the  gods  whose  names  are  found  at  the  end  of 

the  copy  of  the  treaty  which  Rameses  II.  made  with  Kheta-sar, 

the  prince  of  the  Kheta,  are  found  a  number  of  Sutekh,  1  v\  „  Hj , 

gods  of  various  cities,  among  them  being  Sutekh  of  Arenna,  Sutekh 
of  Thapu-Arenuta,  Sutekh  of  Paireqa,  Sutekh  of  Khisasapa,  Sutekh 
of  Saresu,  Sutekh  of  Khirepu  (Aleppo),  Sutekh  of  Rekhasua,  and 
Sutekh  of  Mukhipaina.  In  the  paragraphs  on  the  god  Set  it  has 
been  shown  that  for  all  practical  purposes  Sutekh  and  Set  were 
one  and  the  same  god  in  the  eyes  of  the  Egyptians,  and  the 
fabulous  Set  animal  was  as  much  a  symbol  of  Sutekh  as  he  was  of 

1  Asien  und'Europa,  p.  316. 


284 


BES 


Set.  Sutekh  was  supposed  to  be,  more  or  less,  a  god  of  evil,  but 
the  Egyptians  attempted  to  obtain  his  favour,  even  as  they  did 
that  of  Set,  by  means  of  offerings  and  prayers. 

Among  the  foreign  gods  known  to  the  Egyptians  is  usually 

mentioned  Bes,    J    I  5  ,  who  according  to  some  is  of  Semitic,  and 

according  to  others  of  African  origin ; 1  we  may  note,  however, 
that  the  name  of  the  god  appears  to  be  Egyptian,  and  it  seems  to 
have  been  bestowed  upon  him  in  very  early  times  because  of  the 
animal's  skin  which  he  wore;  the  animal  itself  was  called  "Besa" 

or  "  Basu." 2  He  is  usually  de- 
picted in  the  form  of  a  dwarf  with 
a  huge  bearded  head,  protruding 
tongue,  flat  nose,  shaggy  eye- 
brows and  hair,  large  projecting 
ears,  long  but  thick  arms,  and 
bowed  legs ;  round  his  body  he 
wears  the  skin  of  an  animal  of  the 
panther  tribe,  and  its  tail  hangs 
down  and  usually  touches  the 
ground  behind  him  ;  on  his  head 
he  wears  a  tiara  of  feathers, 
which  suggests  a  savage  or  semi- 
savage  origin.  He  is  sometimes 
drawn  in  profile,  like  the  other 
Egyptian  gods,  but  usually  he 
appears  full  face,  like  the  god- 
dess Qetesh.  As  a  god  of  music 
and  the  dance  he  is  sometimes 
represented  playing  upon  a  harp  ; 3  as  a  god  of  war  and  slaughter, 
and  as  a  destroying  force  of  nature  he  carries  two  knives 
in  his  hands ;  as  a  warrior  he  appears  in  a  short  military 
tunic,    which    is    fastened    round    his    body    by   a   belt,    and   he 

1  Mtiller,   Asien  und  Europa,  p.    310 ;    Wiedemann,  Religion  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians,  p.  159. 

2  J      ^Ci  BES'    J     \^v\   1>  Basu  =  Felis  Cynailurus;  see  Aeg.  Zeit.  ii.  10. 

3  Lanzone,  Dizionario,  pll.  76,  77. 


Bes. 


BES  285 

holds  in  his  left  hand  a  shield  and  a  short  sword  in  his  rierht. 
Figures  of  Bes  are  found  carved  upon  the  handles  of  mirrors,  on 
Jeohl  vessels,  and  on  pillows,  all  of  which  indicate  that  in  one  aspect 
at  least  he  was  associated  with  rest,  and  joy,  and  pleasure.  From 
a  number  of  scenes  on  the  walls  of  the  temples  and  from  bas-reliefs 
we  see  that  Bes  was  supposed  to  be  present  in  the  chambers  and 
places  wherein  children  were  born,  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
regarded  as  a  protector  of  children  and  youths,  and  a  god  who 
studied  to  find  them  pleasure  and  amusement. 

According  to  Midler,1  two  figures  of  the  god  were  found  at 
Kahun,  and,  if  these  really  belong  to  the  period  when  that  city  was 
nourishing,  Bes  must  have  been  honoured  there  as  early  as  the 
Xllth  Dynasty.  Taken  by  itself,  however,  this  evidence  is  not 
worth  a  great  deal,  because  the 
figures  may  have  been  placed  in  the 
tombs  at  Kahun  during  burials  of  a 
much  later  date.  One  of  the  oldest 
representations  of  Bes,  as  Prof. 
Wiedemann  has  pointed  out,  is 
found  in  a  relief  in  the  famous 
temple  of  Hatshepset  at  Der  al- 
Bahari,  where  he  appears  in  the 
chamber  wherein  the  birth  of  the 
great  queen  is  supposed  to  be 
taking    place.       In    this     chamber  Bes- 

Meskhent,  the  goddess  of  birth,  presides,  and  we  see  the  goddesses 
who  act  as  midwives  to  the  queen  of  Thothmes  L,  and  those  who 
are  nurses,  and  the  gods  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  etc, 
waiting  to  minister  to  Hatshepset  and  to  her  Ka,  or  double,  which 
was,  of  course,  born  when  she  was.  By  the  side  of  the  couch  stand 
Bes  and  Ta-ukt,  the  former  with  his  well-known  attributes,  and 
the  latter  represented  in  the  form  of  a  hippopotamus  standing  on 
her  hind  legs,  and  leaning  with  her  fore  legs  upon  the  emblem  of 
magical  protection,  ^ .  What  Bes  and  Ta-urt  were  to  do  for  the 
princess  is  not  apparent,  but  as  we  find  one  or  both  of  these  deities 

1  Lanzone,  Dizionario,  p.  310. 


286  BES 

represented  in  the  lying-in  rooms  of  Egyptian  queens,  it  is  clear 
that  their  presence  was  considered  to  be  of  great  importance  both 
to  mother  and  child.  In  the  Heliopolitan  and  Theban  Recensions 
of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  the  name  of  Bes  does  not  occur,  but  in  one 
of  the  vignettes  to  the  cxlvth  Chapter  (§  xxi.)  of  the  Saite 
Recension  this  god  is  seen  guarding  one  of  the  pylons  of  the  house 
of  Osiris  in  the  Underworld.  At  some  period  under  the  New 
Empire  the  original  attributes  of  Bes  were  modified,  and  he 
assumed  the  character  of  a  solar  god  and  became  identified  with 
Horus  the  Child,  or  Harpocrates ;  little  by  little  he  was  merged  in 
other  forms  of  the  Sun-god,  until  at  length  he  absorbed  the 
characteristics  of  Horus,  Ra,  and  Temu.  As  Horus,  or  Harpocrates, 
he  wore  the  lock  of  hair,  which  is  symbolic  of  youth,  on  the  right 
side  of  his  head,  and  as  Ra-Temu  he  was  given  the  withered  cheeks 
and  attributes  of  an  old  man.  On  the  Metternich  Stele  we  see  the 
head  of  the  "  Old  Man  who  renews  his  youth,  and  the  Aged  One 
"  who  maketh  himself  once  again  a  boy,"  placed  above  that  of 
Horus,  the  god  of  renewed  life  and  of  the  rising  sun,  to  show  that 
the  two  heads  represent,  after  all,  only  phases  of  one  and  the  same 
god. 

After  the  XXVIth  Dynasty  and  during  the  Ptolemaic  period 
we  find  from  certain  bronze  figures,  numerous  examples  of  which 
are  found  in  the  various  Museums  of  Europe,  that  Bes  was  merged 
wholly  in  Horus,  and  that  the  Egyptians  bestowed  upon  him  the 
body  and  wings  of  a  hawk  united  to  the  body  of  a  vigorous  young 
man,  who,  however,  had  the  head  of  a  very  aged  man  surmounted 
by  the  group  of  heads  with  which  we  are  familiar  from  the  Cippi  of 
Horus.  On  the  Metternich  Stele  (see  above,  p.  273)  we  see  him 
wearing  the  plumes  of  Shu  and  of  the  other  gods  of  light  and  air, 
and  the  horns  of  Amen  or  of  the  Ram  of  Mendes,  and  above  these 
are  eight  knives  and  the  emblem  of  million  of  years,  and  he  holds 
in  his  hands  all  the  emblems  of  sovereignty  and  dominion  which 
Osiris  holds,  besides  serpents,  which  he  crushes  in  his  grasp.  He 
stands  upon  an  oval  wherein  are  grouped  specimens  of  all  the 
Typhonic  beasts,  and  we  may  gather  from  his  attitude  that  he  is 
lord  of  them  all.  In  the  vignette  to  the  xxviiith  Chapter  of  the 
Book  of  the  Dead  a  monster,   who   somewhat   resembles   Bes,    is 


The    God    BES. 


BES  287 

seen  standing  before  the  deceased,  though  apparently  not  in  a 
threatening  attitude ;  he  holds  a  knife  close  to  his  breast  in  his 
right  hand,  and  he  clasps  the  root  of  his  tail  with  his  left.  There 
is  no  indication  in  the  text  to  show  who  this  monster  is,  but  it 
seems  very  probable  that  it  is  Bes.  In  the  vignette  under  con- 
sideration the  creature  has  a  huge  head  with  long  and  shaggy 
hair,  but,  although  his  body  is  large  and  his  limbs  massive,  he  is 
not  represented  as  a  dwarf;  he  has,  apparently,  come  with  his 
knife  to  cut  out  the  heart  of  the  deceased,  and  to  carry  it  away 
from  him.  The  papyrus  in  which  it  is  found,  viz.,  that  of  Nefer- 
uben-f,  which  is  preserved  in  Paris,  probably  dates  from  the 
XVIIIth  Dynasty,  and  if  the  monster  be  really  Bes,  or  some  such 
form  of  him  as  Hit,  |  M  ofl,  it  is  important  to  note  that  he  had 
found  a  place  in  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  at 
that  early  period  of  its  history. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  the  change  of  view  on  the  part  of 

the  Egyptians  which  turned  the  god  of  mirth,  and  laughter,  and 

pleasure    into    an    avenging    deity,  but   it  may  be   explained   by 

assuming  that  he  only  exhibited  his  terror  and  ferocity  to  the 

wicked,  while  to  the  good  in  the  Underworld  he  was  a  true  friend 

and  merry  companion.     In  the  texts,  especially  those  of  the  late 

period,  Bes  is  sometimes  mentioned  in  connexion  with  Neter  Ta, 

or  the  "  Divine  Land,"  or  "  Land  of  the  God,"  i.e.,  Arabia,  and  as 

this  name  is  also  used  in  connexion  with  Punt,  and  is  applied  to 

the  adjacent  lands,  attempts  have  been  made  to  prove  that  the 

god  is  of  Arabian  origin.     This  is,  however,  extremely  improbable, 

for  his  characteristics  are  much  more  those  of  an  African  than 

Asiatic  deity.     The  figure  of  Bes  suggests  that  his  home  was  a 

place  where  the  dwarf  and  pygmy  were  held  in  esteem,  whilst  his 

head-dress  resembles  those  head-dresses  which  were,  and  still  are, 

worn  by  the  tribes  of  Equatorial  Africa,  and  this  would  lead  us  to 

place  his  home  in  that  portion  of  it  which  lies  a  few  degrees  to  the 

north  of  the  Equator.     The  knowledge  of  the  god,  and  perhaps 

figures  of  him,  were  brought  from  this  region,  which  the  Egyptians 

called  the  "  Land  of  the  Spirits,"  to  Egypt  in  the  early  dynastic 

period,  when    kings   of  Egypt  loved  to   keep  a  pygmy  at  their 

courts.     The  earthly  kinsmen  of  the  god  who  lived  to  the  soutli 


288  MERUL 

of  Egypt  were,  no  doubt,  well  known  even  to  the  predynastic 
Egyptians,  and  as  the  dynastic  Egyptians  were  at  all  times  familiar 
with  the  figure  of  Bes  those  of  the  late  period  may  be  forgiven  for 
connecting  him  with  the  "Land  of  the  God,"  or  Punt,  whence, 
according  to  tradition,  came  the  early  people  who  invaded  the  Nile 
Valley  from  the  east,  or  south-east,  and  settled  in  Egypt  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  modern  city  of  Kena.  Bes  wears  an 
animal's  tail,  which  is  a  striking  characteristic  of  the  early  men  of 
Punt,  but  so  does  every  Egyptian  god,  and  every  god,  when  once 
he  had  been  included  among  the  gods  of  Egypt,  whether  originally 
Libyan,  or  Syrian,  or  Nubian,  was  endowed  with  an  animal's  tail 
and  a  plaited  beard,  which  are  the  traditional  attributes  of  the 
people  of  Punt.  In  his  original  conception  Bes  is  certainly 
African,  and  his  cult  in  Egypt  is  coeval  with  dynastic  civilization  ; 
the  name  of  the  god  continued  in  use  long  after  he  himself  was 
forgotten,  and  some  famous  Copts  bore  it,  among  them  being 
Besa,  the  disciple  of  the  great  monk  Shenuti,  cyertoY+. 

A  Nubian  god  of  interest  and   of  some  local  importance  is 

Merul  or  Meril,  *<^l  v\     _2^,  or   ?\    <=>  M  _£=&,  who  was  the 

son  of  Horus  and  Isis  ;  he  was  the  third  member  of  the  tfiad  of 

the  city   of  Termes,   or    Telmes,  ©,  a   city   the   site   of 

which  is  marked  by  the  modern  village  of  Kalabsheh  in  Nubia, 
situated  about  thirty-five  miles  to  the  north  of  Syene.  At  Dabod 
also  he  was  the  third  member  of  the  local  triad,  which  consisted  of 
Seb,  Nut,  and  Merul.  In  the  figures  of  the  god  reproduced  by 
Lanzone  1  he  is  depicted  in  the  form  of  a  man,  with  or  without  a 
beard,  and  he  wears  the  White  Crown  with  plumes,  or  the  triple 
crown  with  horns  and  uraei,  or  a  crown  composed  of  a  pair  of 
horns,  with  two  plumes  and  a  solar  disk  between  them,  and  uraei. 
His  titles  are : — "  Great  god,  governor  (or  dweller  in)  the  White 
Mountain,"  i|^Q^£]i^;  "son  of  Horus,  great  god,  lord  of 
Telmes,"  "^\ '  ^\  '  1  t  ^37  ^== ;  "  Great  Sekhem,  governor  of 

the  two  lands  of  the  West,"  ^l^^fl^fe^^;"  Beautiful 

1  Dizlonario,  pll.  122,  123. 


FOREIGX    GODS  289 

bov  who  proceedeth  from  the  son  of  Isis,"  8  ^§*>  fa  f  j;^^  / Q  J  c 

A  /WWW  J    (i  ^  JJ  O ' 

and  "holy  child  of  the  son  of  Osiris,"  a4^-  jp)  ^  /wwa  ^  ^H^.  A 
text  quoted  by  Brugsch l  speaks  of  Merul  as  coming  from  Ta-neter, 

i  "s    I  o©'  i,e*'  the  on  botl1  sides  of  tne  southern  end  of  the 

Red  Sea,  and  the  coast  of  Africa  which  is  further  to  the  south. 
Thus  it  seems  that  Merul  is  not  of  Egyptian  origin,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  worship  of  the  god  is  very  ancient.  The 
variant  forms  of  his  name  are: — 1=*"  K       t=i.    or   "t=x  <===>  ®^  c 

^  _£s&  (|(|  5o^,  and  ^  <=>  ^  ',  i.e.,  Menruil,  Menlil,  and  Mer- 
uter ;  from  the  first  two  of  these  was  formed  the  classical  name  of 
the  god — Mandulis.  The  centres  of  the  worship  of  the  god  were 
at  Telmes  and  Philae ;  at  the  former  place  the  temple  of  Merul 
was  rebuilt  by  Augustus  on  the  site  of  an  earlier  building,  but  the 
ruins  of  the  little  shrine  of  the  god  at  Philae,  which  stood  behind 
the  colonnade  of  the  Temple  of  Ari-hes-nefer,  suggests  that  the 
building  was  the  work  of  one  of  the  early  Ptolemies,  perhaps  of 
Philadelphus. 

In  connexion  with  the  question  of  the  cult  of  foreign  gods  in 
Egypt,  and  of  the  gods  of  Egypt  in  foreign  lands,  reference  may 
here  be  made  to  a  theory  which  has  recently  been  put  forward2  to 
the  effect  that  several  of  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  worshipped  as 
idols  by  the  Arabs  of  the  pre-Islamic  times.  According  to  this 
the  Egyptian  god  Tern,  ^  ^  ^j ,  =  the  Arabic  idol  Tim,  r* 
Tehuti  (Thoth),  ^%,  =  Ta'ut,  -^u=  ;  Iusaas,  J\  " 


Ya'uth,  4>j*£  ;  Reret,  <_>      %  ,  =  Lat,  win  ;  Uatchit, 


'Azza,  ^\ ;  Menat,         l\    ,  =  Men  at,  SU*  ;  Meteni,  f\  ^^  Q  fl 
Medan,  0WM  ;  Hap-re,  |  §  ^  ^  ^,  =  Habal,  J*;  Bes,  J  (1  *\ 
Buss,  y-j ;  Bennu,  J  Q  ^  ^g& ,  =  Bctwanat,  &^  5  Bar,  J         *a 
Ba'al,  J»  ;  and  so  on.     The  theory  is  of  interest,  but  bevond  a 


1  See  Brugsch,  Geographic,  p.  954. 

2  See   Ahmed-Bey   Kamal,  Les   Uoles    Arabes    et    les    Divinites    Egyptiennez 
(Recueil,  xxiv.,  p.  11  ft\). 

II — U 


290  FOREIGN    GODS 

certain  similarity  between  the  Egyptian  and  Arabic  names  little 
proof  has  been  brought  forward  in  support  of  it.     It  is,  of  course, 
quite   possible   that   the   knowledge   of  several   of  the  gods  and 
goddesses  of  Egypt  should  have  found  its  way  into  Arabia  in  early 
times  ;  indeed  this  is  only  what  is  to  be  expected.     We  know  that 
already  in  the  Illrd  Dynasty  the  turquoise  mines  of  Sinai  were 
worked  for  the  benefit  of  the  kings  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  goddess 
Hathor  was  especially  worshipped  in  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai  long 
before  the  close  of  the  Vlth  Dynasty.     From  Sinai  the  knowledge 
of  Hathor,  and  Sept,  and  of  other  Egyptian  gods  worshipped   at 
Sarbiit  al-Khadem  and  other  mining  centres  would  spread  to  the 
north  and  south,  and  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  it  would  reach 
every   place    where   the    caravans   carried   torquoises    for   barter. 
Under  the  Middle  and  New  Empires  this  knowledge  would  become 
very  widespread,  and  might  have  reached  the  tribes  in  the  extreme 
south  of  the  Arabian  Peninsula.     On  the  other  hand,  we  have  no 
proof  that  the  pre-Islamic  Arabs  adopted  Egyptian  gods,  or  that 
they   even   attempted    to   understand   their   attributes    and    cult. 
Before  the  theory  already  referred  to  can  be  accepted  it  must  be 
shown   that   the    Egyptian    and   Arabian  gods  whose   names  are 
quoted  above  are  really  identical,  and  that  it  has  more  to  rest 
upon  than  similarities  of  names.     The  pre-Islamic  gods  were  pro- 
bably indigenous,  and  the  pre-Islamic  tribes  being  Semitic,  their 
gods  would  be,  naturally,  of  a  character  quite  different  from  that 
of  the  gods  of  Egypt,  and  the  attributes  of  the  Semitic  gods  would 
be  entirely  different  from  those  of  the  Egyptian  gods.     Whatsoever 
borrowing  of  gods  took  place  under  the  early  dynasties  was  from 
Egypt  by  Arabia  and  not  from  Arabia  by  Egypt,  and  this  is  true 
for  all  periods  of  Egyptian  history,  with  the  exception  of  the  late 
Ptolemaic  period,  when  a  few  local  and  unimportant  Arabian  gods 
appear  to  have  been  adopted  at  certain  places  in  Egypt.     The 
pre-Islamic  Arabs  were  worshippers  of  stocks  and  stones,  and  it  is 
exceedingly  doubtful  if  they  were   sufficiently   developed,   either 
mentally  or  spiritually,  before  the  period  of  the  XXVIth  Dynasty 
to  understand  the  gods  of  Egypt  and  their  attributes,  or  to  adopt 
their  cult  to  their  spiritual  needs  which,  after  all,  can  only  have 
been  those  of  nomadic  desert  tribes. 


(     291     ) 


CHAPTER   XIX 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


L- 

1. 

2. 

3. 
4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 
8. 
9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 


-The   Gods  of  the   Twenty-eight  finger-breadths  of   the 

Royal  Cubit 


Ra,  O . 

Shu,  p. 

KHENT,    £3. 

Seb,  <^. 
Xut,  O^. 
Asar,     j]    . 

Ast,  r  . 
Set,  3-J. 
Xebt-het,  Tj  . 

Heru,   v\,  . 

Mest,  — h— . 

Hap. 


tuamatef,  ^ 

Qebhsennu-f 

Tehuti 


a d 


16.  Sep,  ^L. 

17.  Heq,  j^. 

18.  Armaua,  =f|^. 


-C2>-       <^> 


19.  Maa-en-tef. 

20.  Ar-ren-f-tchesef, 

21.  Hak  (?)  _£>. 

22.  Septu,  (\\§^- 

23.  Seb,  *. 

24.  An-Her,  ^  F=q. 

25.  Her-aua,  v\   \~^\- 

26.  Sheps,  ^sL 

27.  Amsu  (or  Min),  ^, 

28.  Uu,  ^^. 


292  MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

II. — The  Gods  and  Goddesses  of  the  Days  of  the  Month. 


1.        .  1st  hour  of  the       1st  day  of  the  Moon :  Shu,  (J  £  ^  . 


2.  Ilnd  „ 

3.  IUrd  „ 

4.  IVth  „ 

5.  Vth  „ 

6.  Vlth 

7.  Vllth  „ 

8.  VHIth 


n         n 


9.  IXth 

10.  Xth 

11.  Xlth 

12.  Xllth 


11  11 


11  11 


11  11 


11  11 


11  11 


Ilnd 
Illrd 

IVth 

Vth 

Vlth 

Vllth 

VHIth 

IXth 

Xth 

Xlth 
Xllth 


Heru-sa-Ast,  v^ 

AST,    j|°. 

Sekhet,  fy    •  . 

I      ^     VJ 

Uatchit,  |(j(j  ^. 

Menhit 

Ur-heket, 

Aa[x],  ~ 

M  V 

Hetet,    ^ 
Ba-neb 


Q 


II 


o 


X      _£^ 

=>  To' 


Tettu, 


3& 


1 .       1st  hour  of  the  night  of  the    XHIth  day  of  the  Moon :  Shu,  p     ^  . 

„  „        [Tefnut, 


2.  Ilnd 

3.  Illrd 

4.  IVth 

5.  Vth 

6.  Vlth 


XlVth 

XVth 

XVIth 

XVIIth 

XVIIIth 


°ol 


Seb  (Qeb), 

Nut,  ° 


I 


Anpet,  (j  ^ 
Khent,  ^ 


o 


0" 


III. — The  Gods  and  Goddesses  of  the  Months  of  the  Year. 


Month 

1.  eouoYT 


Deity 
TiM  ° .    Goddess  Tekhi1 


\\ . 


1  Yar.,     ^  ^L?5  Tekh-heb. 


MISCELLANEOUS   GODS 


293 


Month 

2.  n*om  = 

3.  <\eujp  = 

4.  xot*K         — 

5.  tujKi  = 

6.  ute^'P         = 

7.  cpAJutertuje  = 

8.  c|>ApuioYei  = 

9.  n^xcjurf       = 

10.  n<\uum         = 

11.  ennn  = 

12.  jmecuupH      = 


Deity 

©' 

God        Ptah-aneb-res-f1 

0" 

Goddess  Het-hert 

id 

o* 

Goddess  Sekhet2 

o    O' 

^    0' 


o    © 


God        Amsu,  or  Min3 
God        Rekeh-ur4 
God        Rekeh-netches 

Goddess  Rennutet 

God        Khensu 
God        Khenthi5 
Goddess  Aptg 

God        Heru-khuti7 


•  1^ 

/VWW\       I      _21 

dlh  ]  111- 


IV. — The  Birthdays  of  the  Gods  and  Goddesses  of  the  Five 

Epagomenal  Days. 


1.  Day     I. 

2.  Day    II. 


v£?  ® ,  The  Birthday  of  Osiris. 
Oil,        The  Birthday  of  Horus. 


Milium,  r\       i— i  -_ 

1  Variants,   /ww^    Menkhet  and  v^/  (  ^    ,  Heb-apt. 


2  Var.,  M  <©>    LJ  ,  Ka-her-ka-heb. 


3  Var., 


j:f. 


Shef-beti. 


1  Var., 


w 


O  rJT  >  Makhiar. 


<£? 


(](]],  Heru. 


KHENT-KHATITH    and    ^£7 


5  Variants, 

Heb-Antet. 

6  Variants,  (1  U  l)  e»?  Apt-hent  and  <j£?  (j       X         I,  Heb-api-hkxi-s. 

7  Variants,  v^y-  ^2^7,  Apt-Renpit  and  ^ZS^   ^  ,  Heb-tep. 


<£X  ^  ^ 


r^/^1 


294 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


3. 

Day  III. 

Gin, 

The  Birthday  of  Set. 

4. 

Day  IV. 

0im, 

The  Birthday  of  Isis. 

5. 

Day    V. 

Olliil, 

The  Birthday  of  Nephthys 

V. — The  Gods  and 

1.  First  Hour    . 

2.  Second  Hour 

3.  Third  Hour  . 

4.  Fourth  Hour 

5.  Fifth  Hour    . 

6.  Sixth  Hour  . 

7.  Seventh  Hour 

8.  Eighth  Hour 

9.  Ninth  Hour  . 

10.  Tenth  Hour  . 

11.  Eleventh  Hour 

12.  Twelfth  Hour 


Goddesses  of  the  Hours  of  the  Day. 
Amseth  .         .       HYP  11' 


Hap       . 

TUA-MAT-F       . 

Qebh-sennu-f 

Heq 

Armai  . 

Maa-tef-f     . 

Ar-ren-f-tchesef 

Hentch-hentch 

Qet 

Ari-nef  Nebat.1 

Matchet 


D  • 

1\)    AA/WV* 

IA  www 


A 


1 


1- 


O      AAAAAA       O      AAAAAA     r— 1 


o 


/VWVVA         7T 


VI. — The  Gods  and  Goddesses  of  the  Hours   of  the  Night. 

The  deities  of  the  hours  of  the  night  are  the  same  as  those  of 
the  hours  of  the  day,  and  their  names  follow  each  other  in  the 
order  in  which  they  occur  as  gods  of  the  hours  of  the  day. 


1  Var.,  An-erta-nef-nebat, 


AAAAAA        TT 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


295 


VII. — The  Gods  and  G-oddesses  who  watch  before  and 

BEHIND    OSIRIS-SERAPIS    DURING    THE    TWELVE    HOURS 

of  the  Day  and  of  the  Night. 


By  Day 

Before  Osiris 

Behind  Osiris 

By  Nighl 

i       Before  Osiris 

Behind  Osiris 

Hour  1. 

Matchet 

Amseth 

Hour  1. 

Thoth  and  Anep 

Amseth 

55 

2. 

Amseth 

Hap 

55 

2. 

Anep  and  Ap-ual 

Hap 

55 

3. 

Hap 

Tuamutef 

55 

3. 

Heru  and  Thoth  Tuamutef 

55 

4. 

Tuamutef 

Qebhsennu-f 

55 

4. 

Heru  and  Ast 

Qebhsennu-f 

55 

5. 

Qebhsennu-j 

'Heq 

55 

5. 

xlstandNebt-hel 

Heq 

55 

6. 

Heq 

Armaiu 

55 

6. 

Shu  and  Seb 

Armaiu 

57 

7. 

Arnifiiu 

Maa-tef-f 

55 

7. 

Thoth  and  Anep 

Maa-tef-f 

55 

8. 

Maa-tef-f 

Ari-ren-f- 
tchesef 

55 

8. 

Heru  and  those 
in  his  train 

Ar-ren-f 
tchesef 

55 

9. 

Ari-ren-f- 
tchesef 

Hentch- 
hentch 

55 

9 

Hentch- 
hentch 

55 

10. 

Hentch- 
hentch 

Qet 

55 

10. 

Heru  and  those 
in  his  train 

Qet 

55 

11. 

Qet 

An-erta-nef- 
nebat 

55 

11. 

Neteru  ent  ha- 
abt 

An-erta- 
nef-nebat 

55 

12. 

An-erta-nef- 

55 

12. 

Heru  and  Seb 

Matchet 

nebat 


VIII. — The  Gods  of  the  Four  Winds. 
1.  The  North  Wind  was  called  Qebui,  a  J     X^2,  or 


A  ^^  I 


North  Wind. 


North  Wind. 


296  MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

2.  The    South  Wind  was  called  Shehbui,    "^  J  XN  2^3 


or 


m^\- 


/YVT\ 


jE H^ A 


South  Wind. 


West  Wind. 


3.  The  Bast  Wind  was  called  Henehisesui,  ^  ®  [Ifl 


42^or 


4.  The  West  Wind  was  called  Hutchaiui,  8  ®  J  [](j  ^y2 


\\' 


or 


East  Wind. 


East  Wind. 


IX. — The  Gods  of  the  Senses. 

1.   Saa,  n*^^\  d^a^j),  the  god  of  the  sense  of  Touch  or 
Feeling  and  of  knowledge  and  understanding,  is  depicted  in  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


297 


ordinary  form  of  a  man-god,  and  he  has  upon  his  head  the  sign 
^m,  which  is  the  symbol  of  his  name.  One  of  the  earliest 
mentions  of  this  god  occurs  in  the  text  of  Unas  (line  439),  where  it 
is  said  that  the  dead  king  has  "  taken  possession  of  Hu  and  hath 
gained  the  mastery  over  Saa,"  s^p  '  8  ^\  Jk.  [HJ  ®  f\ 
P  (]  *mm  j^  j^. .  In  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead, 
Saa,  or  Saa,  appears  in  the  Judgment  Scene  among  the  gods  who 
watch  the  weighing  of  the  heart  of  the  deceased  in  the  Great 
Balance,  and  he  is  mentioned  in  the  xviith  Chapter  as  one  of  the 
gods  who  came  into  being  from  the  drops  of  blood  which  fell  from 
Ra  when  he  mutilated  himself.  From  the  same  Chapter  we  learn 
that  it  was  he  who  made  the  pun   on  the  name  of  Ra,  the  Cat, 


God  of    God  of  the 
Touch.  Intelligence. 


God  of     God  of 
Seeing.  Hearing. 


The  gods  of  the  Senses. 


which  he  declared  to  be  "  Mail," 


because  it  was  "  like 


(man,  U  tj  y>  -  )  that  which  he  made.  Saa  with  Thoth,  and  Sheta, 
and  Tem  formed  the  "  souls  of  Khemennu  "  (Hermopolis),1  and  Saa 
had  a  place  in  the  Boat  of  Ra  (cxxxvi.B  12),  with  Hu  and  other 
gods.     In  Chapter  clxix.  (line  19),   Saa  is  declared  to  protect  the 

members  of  the  deceased  by  his  magical  powers,  (1  v\  ^m  Jj   v\ 
•    Q  ^^j   although  what  he  was  exactly  supposed  to  do 

for  him  is  unknown  ;  in  this  passage  he  is  mentioned  in  connexion 
with  the  goddess  Sesheta,  the  "  lady  of  writing,"  and  one  of  the 
female  counterparts  of  Thoth.  In  Chapter  clxxiv.  (line  2),  Saa  is  said 
to  have  been  begotten  by  Seb,  and  to  have  been  brought  forth  by 


1  See  Chapter  cxvii. 


298  MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

the  company  of  the  gods,  and  this  statement  supplies  us  with  the 
reason  why  he  is  grouped  among  the  gods  of  the  cycle  of  Osiris. 
The  texts  make  it  clear  that  Saa  was  the  personification  of  the 
intelligence,  whether  of  a  god  or  of  a  human  being,  and  the 
deceased  coveted  the  mastery  over  this  god  because  he  could  give 
him  the  power  to  perceive,  and  to  feel,  and  to  understand.  At  the 
end  of  the  clxxivth  Chapter  (lines  16,  17),  a  "  Great  Intelligence," 

Saau-ur,    and     an    "  Intelligence    of    the 


Ptf 


Amenti    of    Ra,"    1 1  (1  ^\  s^m  ft  *"        ""ffl ,    Saa- Amenti-Ra,    are 
mentioned. 

2.  Hu,    8  "v\      =  j\,    or        =  J),    the   god   of  the   sense   of 


Taste  is  depicted  in  the  ordinary  form  of  a  man-god,  and  he  also 
has  upon  his  head  the  sign  *=,  which  is  the  symbol  of  his  name. 
He  is  mentioned  in  the  text  of  Unas  with  Saa,  and  he  appears 
with  him  in  the  Judgment  Scene,  and  he  was  present  together 
with  Amen,  Thoth,  Nekhebet,  Uatchet,  and  Saa,  when  Isis  brought 
forth  her  son  Horus  in  the  papyrus  swamps  of  the  Delta.  Like 
Saa,  the  god  Hu  came  into  existence  from  a  drop  of  blood  which 
fell  from  Ra  when  he  mutilated  himself.  Hu  was,  however,  not 
only  the  personification  of  the  sense  of  taste  in  god  and  man,  but 
also  became  the  personification  of  the  divine  food  upon  which  the 
gods  and  the  beatified  saints  lived  in  heaven.  Thus  in  the 
lxxxth  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Bead  the  deceased  says,  "  I 
"  have  taken  possession  of  Hu  in  my  city,  for  I  found  him  therein," 
and  in  Chapter  clxix.  (line  22)  it  is  said  to  the  deceased,  "  Hu  is 
in  thy  mouth."  In  some  passages  it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 
the  hu  mentioned  in  the  texts  refers  to  the  god  of  the  sense  of 
Taste,  or  to  the  divine  food  hu. 

3.  Maa,  "~~J  3,  the  god  of  the  sense  of  Sight,  is  depicted  in 
the  ordinary  form  of  a  man-god,  who  has  upon  his  head  an  eye, 
<s>-,  which  is  both  the  emblem  of  his  chief  attribute  and  the 
symbol  of  his  name. 

4.  Setem,  ^  T ,  the  god  of  the  sense  of  Hearing,  is  depicted 
in  the  ordinary  form  of  a  man-god,  who  has  upon  his  head  an  ear, 
^ ,  which  is  both  the  emblem  of  his  chief  attribute  and  the  symbol 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS  299 

of  his  name.  The  gods  of  the  Four  Senses  appear  together  in  a 
relief  which  was  made  for  Ptolemy  IV.  at  Edfu.  In  this  we  have 
the  Sun's  disk  on  the  horizon  placed  in  a  boat  wherein  are  the 
gods  Heru-merti,  Ap-uat,  Shu,  Hathor,  Thoth,  Neith,  and  Heru- 
khent-khathet ;  the  king  stands  in  front  of  the  boat  and  is  offering 

Maat,  \ft,  to  the  god.     Behind  him  are  the  gods  of  the  senses  of 

Taste  and  Touch,  and  behind  the  boat  stand  the  gods  of  the  senses 
of  Sight  and  Hearing.  An  interestino-  variant  form  of  the  god 
Setem  is  reproduced  by  Signor  Lanzone,  from  which  we  see  that 
he  sometimes  had  the  head  of  a  bull  with  the  body  of  a  man  ;  the 
text  which  accompanies  the  figure  describes  the  god  as  "  the 
dweller  in  Pa-Shu"  (i.e.,  Dendera),  and  calls  him  the  "bull,  lord 
of  strength."  * 


X. — The  Soul-God. 

The  mvthoWical  and  religious  texts  contain  indications  that 
the  Egyptians  believed  in  what  may  be  described  as  a  "  "World- 
Soul,"  which  they  called  Ba,  Jsk  J|;    its   symbol  was  a  bearded 

man-headed  hawk,  and  it  was  identified  with  more  than  one  god, 
for  there  was  a  Soul  of  Ra,  a  Soul  of  Shu,2  a  Soul  of  Seb,  a  Soul  of 
Tefnut,  a  Soul  of  Osiris,  and  "  the  Soul  of  the  Great  Body  which 
is  in  Sa'is,  [i.e.,]  Neith."  In  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (xvii.  109  ff.) 
we  find  that  the  Soul  of  Ra  and  the  Soul  of  Osiris  together 
form    the    double    divine    soul    which     inhabited     the    Tchafi, 

(fe?  *vT~  "^^W  w  w\ '  wno  dwelt  m  Tettu-  The  existence  of  a 
World-Soul  presupposed  the  existence  of  a  World-Body,  which 
is  of  course  the  material  universe ;  and  the  type  of  this  was, 
according  to  the  priests  of  Heliopolis,  the  body  of  Osiris,  and 
according  to  the  priests  of  Sa'is,  the  goddess  Xeith  ;  in  other  cities 
the  priests,  no  doubt,  identified  the  World-Body  with  their  local 
gods.  Men  and  gods  were  supposed  to  contain  the  same  component 
parts.     Man  possessed:— 1.  A  physical  body  (^1^,  hhat).      2.  A 

1  Dizionario,  pi.  384,  No.  2.  3  Brugscli,  Diet.  G<:o<j.,  p.  77G. 


300  MISCELLANEOUS   GODS 

soul  ffefc,  or  J\  ,  ba).  3.  A  heart  (® ,  db).  4.  A  double  (U, 
ha).  5.  An  intelligence  f^^,  Ichu).  6.  Power  (y ,  sekhem). 
7.  A  shadow  (|,  hhaibit).     8.  A  spiritual  body  Ml a  8  Q,  sdh). 

9.  A  name  (         ,  ren) ;  and  the  gods  possessed  divine  counter- 

parts  of  all  these.  Thus  Khepera  was  "  strong  in  his  heart " l 
when  he  began  to  create  the  world,  and  according  to  one  version 
of  the  Egyptian  legend  of  Creation  this  god  was  united  to  his 
shadow.  A  god  had  only  one  heart  and  one  shadow,  etc.,  but  he 
might  possess  several  souls  and  "  doubles,"  and  we  know  that  the 
souls  of  Ka  were  seven  in  number,  and  his  doubles  fourteen. 
The   names    of    these   last   were: — 1.  Heq,      v^;    "intelligence." 

2.  Nekht,  U=4,  "strength."  3.  Khu,  m,  "splendour."  4.  Usr, 
"  ,  "power."  5.  Uatch,  J,  "vigour."  6.  Tchefa,  <|v,  "abund- 
ance."    7.  Sheps,    ijJ,    "wealth."      8.  Senem,    ^,    "interment." 

9.  Sept,  ^,  "provision."     10.  Tet,  jj,  "stability."    11.  Maa,-<e>-, 

"sight."     12.  Setem,  4),  "hearing."  13.  Sa,  <mm,  "intelligence." 

14.  Hu,    *=,    "taste."       Similarly  the    texts    show    that     the 

Egyptians  believed  in  the  existence  of  a  divine  Khu,  and  of  a 
divine  Sekhem,  etc. 


XL  Goddesses  and  Gods  of  the  Twelve  Hours  of  the 

Night. 

Goddesses. 

Hour         I.     ^p£frS^*    . 
^      Villi    *  o 

II.  ■*■ 

„     III. 


A~° 


O   o  o 


IV. 


30  <=>    O 


*      . 


Nebt-thehent. 

Sakset. 
Seher-tut. 


Aa-sheft. 


I 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

Goddesses. 


301 


K*- 


Hour        V.     ^7 
VI.    w  [ 


* 


VII.     V&QA.ZA 


* 


IX.    ^!  — eP>*. 


<=>  w 


X. 
XL     4. 

XII      D 


^  o 


5k 


* 


II 


wwa         11 


^    Q 


* 


Neb-ankhet. 

tcheser-shetat. 

Her-tep-aha-her-neb-s. 

Mert. 

Neb-senti. 

mut- neb-set. 

Khesef-khemt. 

Par-neferu-en-xeb-set. 


Gods. 


Hour 


I.  $<=>(), > 

11  f  J^ 


]  w 


III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 
VIII. 


IX.      ->^* 
— a    1   ~ 


*    . 


(D*^ 


* 


* 


X. 


D 
1  s  1 


!  * 


XL     ^ZZZ* 


Khepera. 

Ab-em-tu-f. 

Neb-xeteru. 

An-mut-f. 

Bapi-f. 

Heru-sbati. 

Seker. 

Hertt-her-kiiet. 

Maa-hra. 

Pesh-hetep-f. 

Ka-taui. 

Ka-khu. 


302 


MISCELLANEOUS   GODS 


XII. — The  Goddesses  and  Gods  of  the  Twelve  Hours 

of  the  Day. 


Hour. 

L81 

II. 
III. 


o 


Goddesses. 

.       .    NuNUT. 


M 


<=>    Q 


O 


Semt. 
Mak-nebt-s. 


Gods. 

.  Shu. 

.     .  Hu. 

el  .  Sau. 


D 


IV.  ^       .     .  Seshetat. 

V.  ^  — ■—  J       .  Xesbet. 

TTT  M  X7  ^  t       - 

VL  I  ©  o    •    ■    '  A?ABIT- 

vii.  ^_^  (](]  ©inn  •  Nekiu- 

VIII.  M  ~  .     •  Kheperu. 


y^.ASBKT. 

.     .     .  Tehuti. 


(2    O 


O 


l«1 


IX.       W     1=3=3 


o 


.  Tcheser-shetat 


■i 


Q 


<Tt)  i  Heru-em-au-ab. 

o    u  • 

.     .  Khensu. 

.       .    AST. 


x.  t;h;-sa™t-     ^V\ 


xi.  p§ 


© 


XII. 


D\^ 


Senb-eheperu. 

H 

Hap-tcheserts. 


■=*. 


o  * 


Heq-ur. 
Maa-ennu-am- 

UAA. 
AA-AM-KHEKH. 


XIII. — The  Planets  and  their  Gods.1 

1.  Jupiter,    the   "star   of    the    South,"   ^c  JLv,    was    called 
under   the    XlXth    and    XXth    Dynasties    Heru-ap-sheta-taui, 
=  ,  and  in  the  Graeco-Roman  period  Heru-ap-sheta, 


D  ^^  *,  or  Heru-pe-sheta,    ^    3  Q  l~^~'  *.    This  planet 

was  without  a  god. 

2.  Saturn,  the  "  star  of  the  West  which  traverseth  heaven," 

U 


*H 


is  °  ^,  was   called   "  Heru-ka-pet,"  * 

1  See  Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  p.  65  ff.  ;  Aegyptologie,  p.  336. 


i.e. 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


$03 


"  Horus,  Bull  of  heaven,"  under  the  XlXth  and  XXth  Dynasties, 
and    in    the    Graeco-Roman    period    Heru-p-ka    and    Heru-ka, 

^  D  ^[ ,  and  ^  ^j  x .      The  god  of  this  planet  was  Horus. 

3.  Mars,  the  "star  of  the  East  of  heaven,"  x  * ~|  D  °,  which 
is  described  as  the  "[star]  which  journeyeth  backwards  in  travelling," 
1 1  \  ^j  U&L  J^  ^Z~^Z~  -^>  was  called  "  Heru-khuti,"  ^\s,  under 
the  XlXth  and  XXth  Dynasties,  and  in  the  Graeco-Roman  period 
"  Heru-tesher,"  ^  '  *  <^,  i.e.,  "the  Red  Horus."  The  god  of  I 
this  planet  was  Ra,  G. 


Ven  lis. 


Mercury 


Mars. 


Saturn. 


Jupiter. 


4.  Mercury  was  called  Sebku,  [1  J]  ZS  %  x,  under  the  XlXth   I 

and  XXth  Dynasties,  and  Sebek,  P  J  S,  or  Sebek,  P  j  ^T^,1  in  the 

Graeco-Roman  period.     The  god  of  this  planet  was  Set,  H    q    x  • 

I  i 1  j 

5.  Venus  was  called  the  "  star  of  the  ship  of   the  Bennu- 
Asar,     j  I  Jx  |  ^  ^ni  J    0    JjjJ)'  under  the   XlXth  and 

XXth  Dynasties,  and  "  Pi-neter-Tuau,"  i.e.,  the  "god  of  the 
morning,"  in  the  Graeco-Roman  period.  The  god  of  this  planet 
was  Osiris.     As  an  evening  star  Venus  was  called  Sbat  uatitha, 


X  <^ 


1     ^[^^H^*- 


304 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


XIV. — The  Dekans  and  their  Gods.1 


The  Dekans. 

1.  Tepa-Kenmut     .     . 


Ptolemaic  Variants.2 

f~ K— 1       5^      3 


*" 


1.  Tepa-Kenmut. 


2.  Kenmut 


* 


2.   Kemnut. 


*. 


3.  Kher-khept-Kenmut     ^    f^ 


3.  Kher-khept-Kenmut. 

4.  Ha-tchat      .     .     .     f__g) 


* 


141  AA/WV\     S^    , 


4.   Ha-tchat. 


-=S  A* 


5.  Pehui-tchat 


5.  Pehui-tchat. 

6.  Themat-hert     .     . 


w    &  ~k 


_££ 


w    & 


* 


6.  Themat-hert. 


a  <o 


*. 


_J>    *• 


1  See  Lepsins,  Chronologie,  p.  69  ;    Brugsch,   Thesaurus,   p.   137  ff. ;   Aegtjpt- 
ologie,  p.  340. 

2  The  Greek  transcriptions  are  as  follows  : — 

3  CIT  4  XNOYMIC  5  XAPXNOYMIC 
6  HTHT                  7  <J>OYTHT                          8  TOJM 


The  Dekans. 
7.  Themat-khert    . 


MISCELLANEOUS   GODS 


<=>      <=> 


* 


*  n# 


7.  Themat-khert. 


305 

Ptolemaic  Variants. 


8.   Ustha. 


8.  USTHA H^]1* 

9.  Beeatha  .     .     .     .      /nf)  *. 


□       02 


1i 


9.  Bekatha. 

10.  Tepa-khentet    . 

11.  Khentet-hert    . 


[fflu* 


10.  Tepa-Khentet. 

®  l 


(!*•* 


ttlh 


rilh  *■ 


11.  Khentet-hert. 

12.  Khentet-khert       .      r]Tk 

13.  Themes-en-khentet     s== 

tf  -55-  * 


12.   Khentet-khert. 


ffl 


* 


1 


ill* 


*  tf 


13.  Themes-en-khentet. 

14.   Sapt-khennu       .     .     ^ '-' 


^      0      ■> 


OY€CT€— BIKOJTI 

1  TnHXONTI 


A<t>OCO 
XONTAP€ 

8  CnTXN€ 


3  COYXWC 
G  XONTAXP€ 


n — x 


306 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


The  Dekans. 


Ptolemaic  Variants. 


15.  Her-ab-uaa  .     .     .     *  <0>  s^* 


® 


9 


O  s^^c. 


15.   Her-ab-uaa. 


16.  Shesmu     .     . 

17.  Kenmu       .     . 


18.  Semtet     . 

19.  Tepa-semt 


21.  Sasa-Sert. 


16.  Shesmu. 


TXWkM 


m —  /wv^m  2 

/WW\A    >1(  , 
/WVWA 


* 


* 


*  .  tfr 


19.  Tepa-semt. 

20.  Sert     

21.  S  AS  A- SERT        .       .       . 


&<t 


20.  Sert. 


*. 


*■ 


22.  Kher-khept-sert. 


22.  Kher-khept-sert    .      A»    l^*! 


Ci     * 


1   PHOYOJ       2  C€CM€,  CIC€CM€      3  KONIM€      *  CMAT 
s c  CPC0  r  CICPOJ  8 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


307 


The  Dekans. 


23.  Khukhu 


*. 


Ptolemaic  Variants. 

•I** 


23.  Khukhu. 


2-i.  Baba. 


24.  Baba    .     .     . 

25.  Khent-heru  . 


|V*' 


1 


9 


*. 


® 


* 


25.  Khent-heru. 

26.  Her-ab-khentu  .     . 

27.  Khent-kheru     .     . 


26.  Her-ab-khentu. 


li 


m 


* 


Stl*]-' 


1 


*   • 


*  * 


27.  Khent-kheru. 


28.  Qet. 


28.  Qet      .     .     . 

29.  Sasaqet    .     . 


\o* 


m 


li<^»* 


29.  Sasaqet. 


30.  Art. 


30.  Art 


* 


»'*■ 


1  TnHXY         2  XY         3  TnHBlOY         4  BIOY,  TniBlOY 
5  XONTAP6  6  XONTAXP6  7  CIK€T  8  XGJOY 


308 


31.  Khau 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

The  Dekans.  Ptolemaic  Variants. 


X 


i;- 


31.  Khau. 


32.  Remen-heru-an-Sah. 


32.  Remen-heru-an-Sah    ""*    *  %  h  %% 

AAA/W       <^>     Jl         ill  IS     X  C 0 

33.  Mestcher-Sah   .     .     |  ^  ffs  ^  l^x 


/^--&      .        2 

X- 


X 


33.  Mestcher-Sah.  3-4.  Remeu-kher-Sah 

34.  Remen-eher-Sah    .     "^     J^   Jj.  x 

35.  A-Sah 


x 


fl  o  X' 


flUx 


35.  A-Sah. 

36.  Sah |^x 

37.  Septet      .     .     .     .     A  ^  .5 


36.  Sah. 


*  a 


37.   Septet. 

1  €P(0,  APOY  2  P€M€NAAP€  3  0OCOAK 

4  OYAP€  5  CGOGIC 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS  309 

The  Gods  of  the  Dekans. 

1.  See,  1k  J  J  **,  or  Hapi-Asmat,  %,%v  (j  fl  ^  °°°o   ,  or 

Hapi-Mestha. 

2.  Ba,  5^£,  or  Isis. 

3.  Khentet-khast,  '  (1  ^ ,  or  Isis,  or  the  Children  of  Horus. 

4.  Ast  (Isis),    r  °,  or  Tuamutef,  or  the  Children  of  Horus. 


5.  Nebt-tep-ahet,  ®  5r53>  or  ^ne  Children  of  Horus. 

6.  Mestha-Hapi,  "="|(1  §(1(1,  or  Tuamutef. 

7.  Qebh-sennuf,  KB'   '   ',  or  Tuamutef. 

8.  Tuamutef,  *  \\    °   • 

9.  Tuamutef,  Qebhsennuf,  or  Hapi. 

10.  Tuamutef,  Hapi. 

11.  Heru,  ^  ***. 

12.  Set,  [1~***. 

13.  Heru,  ^  ***  . 

14.  Ast  Nebt-het,   n^  |T . 

15.  Set,  [i     ,  or  Ur, 

'   I  era' 

16.  Heru,  v\  ,  or  Ur 

17.  Mestha,    Hapi,     Tuamutef,     Qebhsennuf,         ~  J(| 

-^       ^      rs;  n  i    i    i  *** 

18.  Heru,  ^*. 

19.  Hapi,  ^^  (|  D  (](]  ^  ***) . 

20.  Ast,  jj- 

21.  Tuamutef,  Qebhsennuf. 

22.  Qebhsennuf. 


310 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 


23. 
24. 
25. 

26. 

27. 
28. 

29. 


tljamutef,  qebhsennuf. 
Mestha,  Hapi. 

Heru,  vj 

Heru,  V\ 


Heru, 


I  oooo 
I 


*****  x 
**** 


o 


30.  Mestha,  Hapi,  Qebhsennuf,  Tuamutef,  Qebhsennuf,  Hapi. 

31.  Hapi. 

32.  Mestha. 

33.  Tuamutef,  Qebhsennuf. 

Maat-Heru,  Heru, 


34. 

35.  Maat-Heru,  Heru 

36.  Maat-Heru 

37.  Maat-Heru  Ast, 


I] 


XV. — The  Star-gods  behind  Sothis  and  Orion. 

1§><I|§=x,  or  Shetu,  c:s^,w. 


1.  Shethu, 


□a 


AMAM 

2.  Nesru,   — "—  _£=£ 


**■ 


3.  Shepet,  ^Dx. 


4.  Apsetch, 


□ 


x- 


5.  Sebshes,  H  J  x  • 

6.  Uash-neter,  c  1  £)     , 


1  Variant  for  Nos.  29  and  30, 
No.  29, 


j|  o  —  W  fft  fr  variant  of 


aaaaaa  ******;   variant  of  No.  30,  Hapi,  Qebhsennuf. 

^  I    AAAAAA    7C7C  A"7C 


M  a 

~  a 

P  « 

is  9 


^   a    2 


_r 

M 

55 

■_• 

z 

cd 

"f 

0 

-= 

O 

if. 

m 

T3 

— 

=4-1 

_ 

o 

SO 

1) 

rt 

,_ 

o 

> 

55 

5 

55 

b 

— 

~ 

55 

~ 

55 

T3 

a 

"" 

H 

ci 

~ 

:•) 

T3 

— 

a 

CO 

* 

B 

r> 

O 

T3 

fe 

— 

CD 

T-. 

— 

^1. 

o 

£ 

M 

55 

eS 

u 

- 

o 

ri 

cu 

H 

- 

a 

* 

05 

o 

"" 

-= 

l-H 

H 

,3       75 


312  MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

XVI. — The  Star-gods  of  the  Southern  and  Northern  Heavens. 

(Seep.  313.) 

1.  The  hippopotamus  Hesamut,  8  r1^  juNj  or  Reret,  ^^j 
up  the  back  of  which  climbs  a  crocodile  without  name  ;  Dr.  Brugsch 
identifies  this  representation  with  Draco.  In  a  list  of  the  hours 
the  various  parts  of  the  body  and  members  of  the  hippopotamus 

goddess  are  mentioned,  e.g.,     1.  _f  _f  *****  <=>.      2.     ^    il  £. 

2.  The   bull   Meskheti,    ffj  ®  ^J    this    was    the    Egyptian 

equivalent  of  our  Great  Bear. 

3.  Horus   the  Warrior  An,  ,  who  holds  in   his  hand  a 

AAAAAA 

weapon  with  which  he  is  attacking  the  Great  Bear. 

4.  A  man  standing  upright  and  wearing  a  disk  on  his  head ; 
without  name. 

5.  A  man  standing  upright;  he  holds  a  sjDear  which  he  is 
driving  into  a  crocodile.     This  figure  is  without  name. 

6.  A  hawk  ;  without  name. 

7.  The  goddess  Serqet,   I         ,  in  the  form  of  a  woman. 

.  |\        n  r—l       O- .«      /WW\A         n        MVWS\ 

8.  The  lion  Am  (?),  Q-y--2»,  or  ^  ,  oXN  -fl-  n  '  with 
eighteen  stars. 

9.  The  crocodile  Serisa,  R  <~:>  ^  <=ss^ . 

XVII. — From  the  famous  circular  representation  of  the 
heavens,  commonly  known  as  the  "  Zodiac  of  Dendera,"  which  was 
formerly  in  the  second  room  of  the  Temple  Roof  at  Dendera,  but 
which  is  now  preserved  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  at  Paris, 
we  learn  that  the  Egyptians  had  a  knowledge  of  the  Twelve  Signs 
of  the  Zodiac.  It  is  wrong,  however,  to  conclude  from  this,  as 
some  have  done,  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  inventors  of  the 
Zodiac,  for  they  borrowed  their  knowledge  of  the  Signs  of  the 
Zodiac,  together  with  much  else,  from  the  Greeks,  who  had 
derived  a  great  deal  of  their  astronomical  lore  from  the  Baby- 
lonians ;  this  is  certainly  so  in  the  matter  of  the  Zodiac.     It  is  at 


MISCELLANEOUS   GODS 


313 


314  THE    ZODIAC 

present  a  subject  for  conjecture  at  what  period  the  Babylonians 
first  divided  the  heavens  into  sections  by  means  of  the  constella- 
tions of  the  Zodiac,  but  we  are  fully  justified  in  assuming  that  the 
earliest  forms  of  the  Zodiac  date  from  an  exceedingly  primitive 
time.  The  early  dwellers  in  Babylonia  who  observed  the  heavens 
systematically  wove  stories  about  the  constellations  which  they 
beheld,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  introduce  them  into  their 
national  religious  literature,  for  Babylonian  astrology  and  theology 
are  very  closely  connected.  Thus  in  the  Creation  Legend  the 
brood  of  monsters  which  were  spawned  by  Tiamat  and  were 
intended  by  her  to  help  her  in  the  fight  which  she  was  about  to 
wage  against  Marduk,  the  champion  of  the  gods,  possessed  astro- 
logical as  well  as  mythological  attributes,  and  some  of  them  at 
least  are  to  be  identified  with  Zodiacal  constellations.  This  view 
has  been  long  held  by  Assyriologists,  but  additional  proof  of  its 
accuracy  has  recently  been  furnished  by  Mr.  L.  W.  King  in  his 
"Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,"1  wherein  he  has  published  an 
interesting  Babylonian  text  of  an  astrological  character,  from  which 
it  is  clear  that  Tiamat,  under  the  form  of  a  constellation  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Ecliptic,  is  associated  with  a  number  of 
Zodiacal  constellations  in  such  a  manner  that  they  may  be  identified 
with  members  of  her  mythical  monster  brood.  The  tablet  in  the 
British  Museum  from  which  Mr.  King  has  obtained  this  text  is  not 
older  than  the  Persian  period ;  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
beliefs  embodied  in  it  were  formulated  at  a  far  earlier  time.  That 
certain  forms  of  the  Creation  Legends  existed  as  early  as  B.C.  2300 
there  is  satisfactory  evidence  to  show,  and  the  origins  of  the 
systematized  Zodiac  as  used  by  the  later  Babylonians  and  by  the 
Greeks  are  probably  as  old ;  whether  the  Babylonians  were  them- 
selves the  inventors  of  such  origins,  or  whether  they  are  to  be 
attributed  to  the  earlier,  non-Semitic,  Sumerian  inhabitants  of  the 
country  cannot  be  said.  It  is,  however,  quite  certain  that  the 
Greeks  borrowed  the  Zodiac  from  the  Babylonians,  and  that  they 
introduced  it  into  Egypt,  probably  during  the  Ptolemaic  period. 
The  following  are  the  forms  of  the  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  as  given  at 
Dendera. 

1  Vol.  I.,  page  204. 


SIGNS   OF   THE   ZODIAC 


315 


1.  Aries. 


4.  Cancer. 


6.   Virgo. 


7.  Libra. 


8.  Scorpio. 


9.   Sagittarius. 


10.  Capricornns. 


11.  Aquarius;. 


^VWVSA/WVW> 

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12.  Pisces. 


316  SIGNS    OF   THE   ZODIAC 


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•  V  —        ^—        i—i  s 


MISCELLANEOUS    GODS  317 

XVIII. — In  the    Second  Corridor  of  the   Tomb    of    Seti   I. 
are  the  following  names  of  gods,  with  figures:1 — 1.  Temtemtch, 

cS|\     c^  f\  1.         2.      KHENTI  -  QERER,      rf[k  &    <=> .         3. 

JS^  J$^  {  '      11111  o  \\  <=> 

Netch-baiu,    ct-^  T     ^  (^  i .       4.   Nef-em-baiu,    ^w^  Xp.   |\ 
^^|.       5.     Senki,     ™(j(]o.       6-     Ba-Ra,     c^^'S. 
7.  Tem,  £s'=.     8.  Shu,  oa($^.    9-  Seb,  "|^J.     10.  1st, 
jo.      ll.  Heru,  ^.      12.  Remi,  ^I^Jtjfff.      13.  Aatiu, 

- a  11(1  v\.       14.     Entuti,  y\     .       15.    Ament,    (1  """*  rx/v°- 

16.    Aakebi,    (1  l^^^  J  M  ^.       17.    Khenti-Amenti,    ,|Tk 


w 
.    18.  Madti,  \i  ^  ~      19.  Tebati,  <^  <t^  ~     20.  Shai, 

]L     21.  Amen-khat,  (]™|   ^  !.     22.  Tuati,   *°  u. 

11  1   AA/W^    U     Q^    I  7  CTZ1 

23.     Tchemtch-hat,     ^  j^  ^  |  ^  j  •       24*    -~VpER  (?)  "TA> 
3^.    25.Thenti,  ™^\    26.  Khepi,.  •  (]().    27.  Sekheper- 

— >    Pfl^kiS:    ».^™,   Ol-     29.   Aax, 

() □(](].      30.    Mau-aa,    I^'^jI-      31.    Metu-khut-f,    J  <* 

^©^_.     32.     Auai,  i]^^()(].     33.  Senk-hra,  ^©  *, 

|\    AA/VA\   £^   »  o  s       ->.       -\ 

34.  Antheti,    IL  <S     35.  Theta-enen,  Li..     36    Besi- 

shemti,    JP^™^.      37.    Semaahut,     fl^f^^.      38. 
Kheperi,  S  M.    39.  Ka-Ateni,  <=>  ©  h   °    M0.    10.  Sekhem- 

V*3        1     1  H        I  1    AAA/W\        I 

42.  Sehetch-khatu,   (1  i  8  ^  ^  %  ° .     43.  Khepera,  6|  <=>  (1 . 

TIT  0      ^  ^         AAftAAA  ^prf 

44.   Nut,  .      45.    Tefnut,  .      46.    Nebt-het,         <a, 

47.  Nu,    ^\      48.  Huaaiti,   |  f]  ^^  (]()"•     49.  Nethert, 


1  See  Lefebure,  ics  Hypog^es  Boyaux  de  Thebes,  Paris,  1886,  pt.  i.,  pi.  15  it. 


1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.  9. 


10.  11.  12.  13.  14.  15.  16.  17.  18. 


19.  20.  21.  22.  23.  24.  25.  26.  27. 


\r^\ 


28.  29.  30.  31.  32.  33.  34.  35.  36.  37. 


46.  45.  44.  43.  42.  41.  40.  39.  38. 

I 


55.  54.  53.  52.  51.  50.  49.  48.  47. 


r\ 


v^ 


r^ 


w 


s  65.  64.  63.  62.  61.  60.  59.  58.  57.  56. 


74.  73.  72.  71.  70.  69.  68.  67.  66. 


320 


1 


MISCELLANEOUS   GODS 

50.    Seraa,    <= 


A    <=*  w 


52.  Amen-ha, 


fe=0).     55.  Serqi, 


51.    Qererti, 
53.  Kheprer,  S         .     54.  Aaai, 
56.  Sekhen-ba, 


z 


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fc^gj.      57.    Reehi,     ^|f)f[.      58.    Shepi,     ffiDlji).      59. 

Seshetai,   ™()(j.     60.  Hai,   ^ o  M  3  .      61.  Maa-uat,    ^: 

62.    Hetchuti,    \\^ •      63.    Uben,    ^J^X-      64 


^  in 


Then  -  aru, 

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66.    Qa  -  ba,     a 
68.    Amam-ta, 


Mi- 


65.    Her-ba,      ^  £^£  ^ 

67.     Netchesti,  ~~ 

7  /W 

69.    Ketuiti, 


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70.  Urshiu, 


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.   71.  Aana-tuati, 


*    w 


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.    72.  Nehi, 


|(][j.      73.    Neb-baitt, 


74.  Neb-senku, 


XIX. — The  Names  of  the  Days  op  the  Month  and  their  Gods. 

Heb-enti-paut,   or 


1.  ©O^E7 

^  w 


2.      ,     ^^7- 

3.  /hng<37. 


4.  * 


5-!TT^ 


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Day  of  Thoth. 

Day  of  Heru-netch-tef-f. 
Day  of  Osiris. 


6. 


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9.  ^5 


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Heb-abet. 
Heb-mesper. 

^P,    Heb-per-setem.  Day  of  Amset. 
Heb-khet-her-khau.  Day  of  Hapi. 

Heb-en-sas.  Day  of  Tuamutef. 

Heb-teoa.  Day  of  Qeblisennuf. 

Heb-tep-[abet]  Day  of  Maa-tef-f. 

Heb-kep.  Dayof  Ari-tchet-f, 


II — Y 


322  MISCELLANEOUS    GODS 

10.  PQq/^.  Heb-saf.  Day  of  Ari-ren-f-tcliesef, 

CZDi  ~T~ 

11.  *Y  I  '^_J.  Heb-satu.  Day  of  Netchti-ur.^J5  J^ 

12.  £^2'C=ffi^-        Heb-Heru-en- Day  of  Netch-an  (?),  "^  j£l. 

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13-  Mq   m'^2^7-         Heb-maa-set.  Day  of  Teken-en-Ra,^^  ^  . 

14.  -^^i  ~^X  ^~^7.  Heb-sa.  Day  of  Hen-en-ba,  y  I  0 

15    fl  ^c    ^  Heb-ent-met-tua.     Day  of  Armauai, 

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16.  jtj5^^E7.  Heb-mesper-sen.      Dayof  Shet-f-met-f,6*^  I  * 

Day  of  Heru-her-uatch-f, 

17.  I[g]^3[7.  Heb-sa.  *x 


18.  l\  I  (j  ^7.  Heb-aah.  Day  of  Ahi, 


19.  ^  Jl  i         .  Heb-setem-metu-f.  Day  of  An-mut-f, 

20.  *Z£?.  Heb-anep.  Day  of  Ap-uat,  \f  a  £^5. 

21.  A  _^.  Heb-aper  Day  of  Anpu  (Anubis). 


22.  _S>  (\^  •  Heb-peh-Sept.  Day  of  Nai,  g  (](]  ^ 

23.  ^[1  JL,.  Heb-tenat.  Day  of  Na-ur,  °  |j$jl    X   ^£7. 

24.  Z°T^7.  Heb-qenh.  Day  of  Na-tesher,  ' 

25.  ^  S  ^7*  Heb-setu.  Day  of  Shem,  ™ 


26.  ^  ^E? .  Heb-pert.  Day  of  Ma-tef-f,  °^  *fL . 

27.  ^nnj^.  Heb-usheb.  Day  of  Tun-abui,  ^S    \\. 

28.  J^  ®  v  oy-  Heb-set-ent-pet.      Day  of  Khnemu. 


d  <^     ^ 


29.  I  *W .  Heb-ari-sekhem(?)  Day  of  Utet-tef-f,  <©. 

„  c — j  Day  of  Heru-netch-tef-f  or 

30.  <<£?  9  , ,.  Heb-nu-pet.  __  ,       /^^ 

©  ^27  '  *  Nehes   fD  ■ 


GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 


:5i>: 


XX.  The  gods  and  mythological  beings  who  are  mentioned  in 
the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead.1 


Arethi-ka-sa-thika 

Aseb    . 

Ashu   . 

Ashbu 

Asher 

Akeru 

Atef-nr 

Ates-hra-she 

Aahet . 

Aakhabit 

Aaqetqet 

Aah     . 

Asar    . 

Ast     . 

Aukert 

Aukert-khentet-ast-s 

Abu-ur 

Ap-uat 

Ap-uat-nieht-sekhem-pet 

Ap-uat-resu  -sekhem-  taui 


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1  The  passages  in  which  these  names  occur  are  given  in  the  Vocabulary  to  my 
edition  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead.      (Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day,  London,  1898.) 


324   GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 

Ap-si Q_LIU 

Ap-skat-taui 
Am-beseku  . 


Am-snef 

Am-hauatu-ent-pelmi-f 

Amen .... 

Amen-Ra,     . 

Arnen-Ra-Heru-khuti  . 

Amen-nathek-rethi-Amen 

Amen-na-an-ka-entek-share 

Ainsu  (or,  Min)     . 

Amsu-Heru 

Amseth 

An-erta-nef-bes-f-kkenti-heh-f 

An-heri-ertit-sa    . 

Aneniu 


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An       . 

An-temt 
An-atef-f 

An-a-f 

Anpu  . 
An-mut-f     . 


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GODS   OF   THE   BOOK   OF   THE   DEAD        325 

An-Her        ....     J\f=^. 
An-hra 


An-hetep-f  . 
An-tebu 
Ari-Maat     . 

Ari-em-ab-f 

Ari-en-ab-f 

Ari-lietch-f 

Ari-si . 

Ah       . 

AM     . 

Ahiu   . 

Aliibit 

Aheti . 

Akhsesef 

Astennu 

Astes  . 

Aken-tau-k-ha-kheru 

Akenti 

Aqen  . 

Aqeh  . 

Akau  . 

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326 


GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 


Ata-re-am-  tcher  -  qemtu-ren- 
par-sheta .... 

Atem  .... 

Aten  .... 

Atek-tau-kehaq-kheru 

Aa-kheru     . 

Au-a    .... 

Aurau-aaqer-sa-anq-re-bathi 

Aba-ta 

Aha-aaui 

Ahau-hrau  . 

Abt-tesi-rut-en-neter 

Apep  . 

Aapef  . 

Am-aau 

Amam-maat 

Am-heh 

Am-khebitu 

Aniam 

Amemet 

Ankhi 

Ankhti 


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GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD   327 


Ankhet  -  pu-ent-Sebek-neb 
Bakhau    . 

Ankh-em-fentu 

Anti    .... 

Aha-an-urt-nef     . 

Akhen-maati-f 

Akhekhu 

Aq-her-ami-unmit-f 

Aqan  . 

Aati    . 

Atch-ur 

Ua       . 

Uaipu 

Uamemti 

Uart-neter-semsu 

Uatch-Maati 

Uatch-Nesert 

Uatchit 

Uaau  .... 

Ui       .         . 

Ubes-hra-per-em-khetkhet 

Unpepet-ent-Het-Heru 

Unnut 


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328   GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 

Unen-nefer 

Un-hat 

Unti    . 

Ur-at  . 

Ur-pehui-f 

Ur-maat 

Ur-maat-s 


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Ur-mertu-s-teshert-sheui 

Ur-hekau 

User-ab 

User-ba 

Usert  .... 

Usekh-nemt 

Usekh-hra 

Utu-rekhit 

Utet-lieh 

Utcha-re 

Ireqai . 

Ba 

Bai      . 

Bati    . 

Bati-erpit 


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Bau 
Bai 

Baba 


Ba-neb-Tettet 

Barekathatchaua 

Bast    . 

Basti   . 

Bab  a   . 

Bah      . 

Bebi    . 

Bennu 

Pa-rehaqa-khep  er  u 

Pa-sliakasa 

Penti  . 

Pehreri 

Pekhat 

Peskheti 

Pesek-re 

Pestu  . 

Peti     . 

Petra  . 

Ptali    . 


GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 

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330        GODS    OF   THE 

Ptah-aneb-res-f 

Ptah-Seker . 
Ptah-Tanen 

Fa-pet 

Maa-anuf     . 

Maa-atef-f-kheri-beq-f  . 

Maati-f-em-shet    . 
Maati-f-em-tes 

Maa-em-  kerh-an-nef-em-hru 

Maa-ha-f 

Maa-heh-en-renpit 

Maatuf-her-a 

Maaiu-su  (?) 

Maa-thet-f  . 

Maat    . 

Maati  . 

Maau-taui 

Marqatha 

Mi-sheps 

Ment  . 

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GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 


131 


Menqet 

Ment    . 

Menthu 

Mer     . 

Mert    . 

Merti  . 

Mer-ur 

Meris  . 

Mert    . 

Meh-urt  . 

Mehanuti-Ra 

Mehi  . 

Mehiu 

Mehen 

Mehenit 

Meht  . 

Meht-khebit-sah-neter 

Mes-peh 

Mes-sepekh  . 

Mestha 

Metu-ta-f     . 

Metes-hra-ari-she 

Metes-sen     . 


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332   GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 


Naarik 

N  asaqbubu 

Nak     . 

Natkkertki 

Nak 

Naau 

Nart 

Nu 

Nubti 

Nut     . 

Neb-abui 

Nebt-unnut 

Neb-krau 

Neb-pehtet-petpet-seba 

Neb-pekti-tkes-mennient 

Neb-maat-keri-tep-retui-f 

Neb-er-tcker 

Nebt-ket 

Neb-s  . 

Xeba  . 

Nepera 

Nefert 

Nefer-Temu 


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GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD   333 


Nem-hra 

Nem    . 

Nemu  . 

Nenutu-hru 

Nen-unser 

Nentchii 

Ner     . 

Nerau . 

Neri    . 

Nerau-ta 

Neliesiu 

Neha-hra 

Neha-hau 

Neheb-nefei 

Neheb-ka 

Nekhebet 

Nekhen 

Neka  . 

Nekau 

Nekau 

Nekek-ur 

Neti  (?) 

Net  (Neith) 


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334        GODS    OF    THE 


Neti-she-f    . 

Neti-hra-f-emma-mast-f 

Neteqa-hra-khesef-at  u 

Netit   . 

Netcheb-ab-f 

Netcliefet     . 

Netchem 

Netcheh-netcheh 

Netchesti 

Netchses 

Re-Sekhait 

Re-iukasa 

Re-Ra 

Ra       . 

Ra-Asar 

Rii-Heru-kliuti 

Ra-Tem 

Ra-er-nelieh 

Rut-en-Ast . 

Rutu-nu-Tem 

Rutu-neb-rekhit 

Remi  . 

Remrem 


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GODS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD 


335 


Renenet 

Rennutet 

Rertu-nifu 

Rerek  . 

Rerti   . 

Rehu  . 

Rehui . 

Rehti  . 

Re-hent 

Re-henenet 

Rekhti-merti-neb-Maati 

Res-ab 

Res-lira 

Rekes  (?) 

Reqi    . 

Retasashaka 

Reta-nifu 

Reta-hen-er-reqau 

Reta-sebanqa 

Hab-em-atu 

Ha-hetep 

Ha-kheru     . 

Haker 


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Harethi 
Hapi  (Nile) 
Hapi   . 
Hapiu  (Apis) 
Hu      . 
Hui     . 
Hu-tepa 
Hi-mu 
Hit      . 
Hebt-re-f 
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337 


Henti-requ 

Hent-she 

Heri-akeba-f 

Heri-uru 

Hertit-an 

Heri-sep-f   . 

Her-ta 

Her-taui 

Heru  . 

Herui  (Horus  and  Set) 

Herui-senui  (Horus  and  Set) 

Heru-ai  (?) 

Heru-ur 

Heru-em-khent-an-maati 

Heru-netch-hra-atef-f 

Heru-khuti 

Heru-sa-Ast 

Hra-ua 

Hra-nefer    . 

Hra-f-ha-f   . 

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Hetep 

Hetep-sekhus 

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Hetep-taui 

Hetemet 

Hetetet 

H etch-re 

Hetch-re-pest-tep 

Hetch-abehu 

Kharsatha    . 

Khu-kheper-ur     . 

Khu-tchet-f 

Khut  . 

Khebent 

Khepera 

Khepesh 

Khemi 

Khemerinu 

Khnemu 

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Khenti-Khatthi 

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Semu-taui    . 

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Ser-kheru  '  . 

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(     345     ) 


CHAPTER  XX 
SACRED    ANIMALS    AND    BIRDS,    ETC. 

THE  Egyptian  texts  prove  beyond  all  doubt  that  the 
Egyptians  worshipped  individual  animals,  and  birds,  and 
reptiles  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  times,  and  in  spite  of  the 
statements  to  the  contrary  which  are  often  made  this  custom  must 
be  regarded  as  a  survival  of  one  of  the  most  popular  forms  of  the 
religion  of  the  predynastic  peoples  of  the  Nile  Valley.  At  first 
animals  were  worshipped  for  their  strength  and  power,  and  because 
man  was  afraid  of  them,  but  at  a  later  period  the  Egyptians 
developed  the  idea  that  individual  animals  were  the  abodes  of  gods, 
and  they  believed  that  certain  deities  were  incarnate  in  them. 
This  idea  is  extremely  ancient,  and  the  Egyptian  saw  no  absurdity 
in  it,  because  at  a  very  early  period  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
a  god  was  always  incarnate  in  the  king  of  Egypt,  and  if  this  were 
so  there  was  no  reason  why  the  gods  should  not  become  incarnate 
in  animals.  Animals  which  formed  the  abodes  of  gods,  or  were 
beloved  by  them,  were  treated  with  especial  reverence  and  care, 
and  apartments  for  their  use  were  specially  constructed  in  the 
temples  throughout  the  country.  When  a  sacred  animal,  i.e.,  the 
abode  of  a  god,  died,  he  was  buried  with  great  ceremony  and 
honour,  and,  in  dynastic  times  at  least,  his  body  was  mummified 
with  as  much  care  as  that  of  a  human  being.  Immediately  after 
the  death  of  a  sacred  animal  in  a  temple  another  beast  was  chosen 
and,  having  been  led  into  the  temple  and  duly  installed  there,  the 
homage  and  worship  of  his  predecessor  were  transferred  to  him. 
The  new  animal  was  a  reincarnation  of  the  god,  i.e.,  a  new 
manifestation  and  reappearance  of  the  deity  of  the  temple,  and  as 
such  he  was  the  visible  symbol  of  a  god.     Of  the  manner  in  which 


346  SACRED    ANIMALS 

sacred  animals  were  thought  to  make  known  the  will  of  the  gods 
who  were  incarnate  in  them  little  can  be  said,  but  the  priests  of 
each  animal  must  have  formulated  some  system  which  Avould  satisfy 
the  devout,  and  they  must  have  had  some  means  of  making  the 
animals  move  in  such  a  way  that  the  beholder  would  be  made  to 
think  that  the  will  of  the  god  incarnate  was  being  revealed  to  him. 
We  may  assume,  too,  that  when  sacred  animals  became  too  old  and 
infirm  to  perform  their  duties  they  were  put  to  death  either  by 
the  priests  or  at  their  command,  and  also  that  care  was  taken,  so 
far  as  possible,  to  keep  in  reserve  an  animal  which  could  take  the 
place  of  that  which  was  in  the  temple  in  the  event  of  its  sudden 
death.  The  monuments  of  the  predynastic  and  archaic  periods  of 
Egyptian  history  which  have  been  discovered  during  the  last  few 
years  prove  that  Neith,  Hathor,  and  Osiris  were  worshipped  in  the 
earliest  times,  and  the  traditions  recorded  by  Greek  and  Roman 
writers  supplement  this  first-hand  evidence  by  a  series  of  statements 
about  the  cult  of  animal  gods  in  Egypt  which  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  for  our  purpose  here. 

One  of  the  oldest  animal  cults  in  Egypt  was  that  of  Hap, 
n  ^f^ '  wnom  ^ne  Greeks  call  Apis,  and  whose  Avorship  is  coeval 
with  Egyptian  civilization.  Apis  was,  however,  one  of  many  bulls 
which  were  worshipped  by  the  Egyptians  throughout  the  Nile 
Valley,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  circumstances 
which  led  up  to  his  occupation  of  such  an  exalted  position  among 
the  animal  gods  of  Egypt  are  unknown.  According  to  JElian,1 
Hapi,  or  Apis,  was  held  in  the  greatest  honour  in  the  time  of 
Mena,  the  first  historical  king  of  Egypt,  but  Manetho 2  says  that  it 
was  under  Kaiekhos,  i.e.,  Ka-kau,  M  ic=v),  a  kins:  of  the  Hnd 
Dynasty,  that  Apis  was  appointed  to  be  a  god.  Herodotus  (iii.  28) 
and  jElian  call  Apis  "Eua^o^,  and  the  former  describes  him  as  the 
"  calf  of  a  cow  which  is  incapable  of  conceiving  another  offspring  ; 
"  and  the  Egyptians  say  that  lightning  descends  upon  the  cow  from 

Ae'yet   oe   tis   to>i>   Trpo<pr]Tojv   Aoyos   ov    7racriv   eKnvcrTOS,    on   apa    [M?)cis]    o    tujv 
ALyv7TTiwv  (3ao-L\ev<;   (.Trevoqcn.   £u>oj/  wore   ae/Sew   €fJ.(f>v^ov,  etra  /xevTOi   npoeiXero  ravpuv, 
a.7rdvT(A)v  uypaiorarov  etvai  avrov  7re77-io-Teu/cajs.      Dc  Nat.  Animal,  xi.  10. 
3  See  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments. 


APIS   BULL  347 

"  heaven,  and  that  from  thence  it  brings  forth  Apis.  This  calf, 
"  which  is  called  Apis,  has  the  following  marks :  it  is  black,  and 
"  has  a  square  spot  of  white  on  the  forehead  ;  and  on  the  back  the 
"  figure  of  an  eagle  :  and  in  the  tail  double  hairs :  and  on  the 
"  tongue  a  beetle."  Pliny  relates  (viii.  72)  that  the  Apis  Bull 
was  distinguished  by  a  conspicuous  white  spot  on  the  right  side, 
in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  and  he  adds  that  when  the  animal  had 
lived  a  certain  number  of  years,  it  was  destroyed  by  being  drowned 
in  the  fountain  of  the  priests.  A  general  mourning  ensued  upon 
this,  and  the  priests  and  others  went  with  their  heads  shaven  until 
they  found  a  successor ;  this,  however,  Pliny  says,  did  not  take 
long,  and  we  may  therefore  assume  that  an  Apis  was  generally 
kept  in  reserve.  As  soon  as  the  animal  was  found,  he  was  brought 
to  Memphis,  where  there  were  two  Thalami  set  apart  for  him  ;  to 
these  bed-chambers  the  people  were  wont  to  resort  to  learn  the 
auguries,  and  according  as  Apis  entered  the  one  or  the  other  of 
these  places,  the  augury  was  deemed  favourable  or  unfavourable. 
He  gave  answers  to  its  devotees  by  taking  food  from  the  hands  of 
those  who  consulted  him.  Usually  Apis  was  kept  in  seclusion,  but 
whensoever  he  appeared  in  public  he  was  attended  by  a  crowd  of 
boys  who  sang  hymns  to  him.  Once  a  year  a  cow  was  presented 
to  him,  but  it  is  said  that  she  was  always  killed  the  same  day  that 
they  found  her.  The  birthday  of  Apis  was  commemorated  by  an 
annual  festival  which  lasted  seven  days,  and  during  this  period  no 
man  was  ever  attacked  by  a  crocodile.  In  front  of  the  sanctuary 
of  Apis  was  a  courtyard  which  contained  another  sanctuary  for  the 
dam  of  the  god,  and  it  was  here  that  he  was  turned  loose  in  order 
that  he  might  be  exhibited  to  his  worshippers  (Strabo,  xvii.  31). 
Diodorus  tells  us  (i.  85)  that  Apis,  Mnevis,  the  Ram  of  Mendes, 
the  crocodile  of  Lake  Moeris,  and  the  lion  of  Leontopolis  were  kept 
at  very  considerable  cost,  for  their  food  consisted  of  cakes  made  of 
the  finest  Avheat  flour  mixed  with  honey,  boiled  or  roasted  geese, 
and  live  birds  of  certain  kinds. 

The  sacred  animals  were  also  washed  in  hot  baths,  and  their 
bodies  were  anointed  with  precious  unguents,  and  perfumed  with 
the  sweetest  odours ;  rich  beds  were  also  provided  for  them  to 
lie  upon.     When  any  of  them  died  the  Egyptians  were  as  much 


348  APIS    BULL 

concerned  as  if  they  had  lost  their  own  children,  and  they  were  wont 
to  spend  largely  in  burying  them  ;  when  Apis  died  at  Memphis  of 
old  age  in  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Lagus  his  keeper  not  only  spent 
everything  he  had  in  burying  him,  but  also  borrowed  fifty  talents 
of  silver  from  the  king  because  his  own  means  were  insufficient. 
Continuing  his  account  of  Apis  Diodorus  says,  "  After  the  splendid 
"  funeral  of  Apis  is  over,  those  priests  that  have  charge  of  the 
"  business  seek  out  another  calf  as  like  the  former  as  possibly  they 
"  can  find  ;  and  when  they  have  found  one,  an  end  is  put  to  all 
"further  mourning  and  lamentation,  and  such  priests  as  are 
"  appointed  for  that  purpose,  lead  the  young  ox  through  the  city 
"  of  Nile,  and  feed  him  forty  days.  Then  they  put  him  into  a 
"  barge,  wherein  is  a  golden  cabin,  and  so  transport  him  as  a  god 
"  to  Memphis,  and  place  him  in  Vulcan's  grove.  During  the  forty 
"  days  before  mentioned,  none  but  women  are  admitted  to  see  him, 
"  who  being  placed  full  in  his  view,  pluck  up  their  coats  and 
"  expose  their  persons.  Afterwards  they  are  forbidden  to  come 
"  into  the  sight  of  this  new  god.  For  the  adoration  of  this  ox, 
"  they  give  this  reason.  They  say  that  the  soul  of  Osiris  passed 
"  into  an  ox ;  and  therefore,  whenever  the  ox  is  dedicated,  to  this 
"  very  day,  the  spirit  of  Osiris  is  infused  into  one  ox  after  another, 
"  to  posterity.  But  some  say,  that  the  members  of  Osiris  (who 
"  was  killed  by  Typhon)  were  thrown  by  Isis  into  an  ox  made  of 
"  wood,  covered  with  ox-hides,  and  from  thence  the  city  Busiris 
"  was  called." 

In  his  account  of  Apis  (xi.  10)  iElian  states  that  Apis  was 
recognized  by  twenty-nine  distinct  marks,  which  were  known  to 
the  priests,  and  that  when  it  was  known  that  he  had  appeared 
they  went  to  the  place  of  his  birth  and  built  there  a  house  towards 
the  East,  and  the  sacred  animal  was  fed  therein  for  four  months. 
After  this  period,  at  the  time  of  new  moon,  the  priests  made  ready 
a  barge  and  conveyed  the  new  Apis  to  Memphis,  where  fine 
chambers  were  set  apart  for  him,  and  spacious  courts  for  him  to 
walk  about  in,  and  where  moreover,  a  number  of  carefully  chosen 
cows  were  kept  for  him.  At  Memphis  a  special  well  of  water 
was  provided  for  Apis  and  he  was  not  allowed  to  drink  of  the 
waters  of  the  Nile  because  they  were  supposed  to  be  too  fattening. 


APIS    BULL  349 

Curiously  enough  the  animals  which  were  sacrificed  to  Apis  were 
oxen,  and  according  to  Herodotus  (ii.  38,  41)  if  a  single  black  hair 
was  found  upon  any  one  of  them  the  beast  was  declared  to  be 
unclean.  "  And  one  of  the  priests  appointed  for  this  purpose 
"  makes  this  examination,  both  when  the  animal  is  standing  up 
"  and  lying  down  ;  and  he  draws  out  the  tongue,  to  see  if  it  is  pure 

"  as  to  the  prescribed  marks He  also  looks  at  the  hairs  of 

"  his  tail,  to  see  whether  they  grow  naturally.  If  the  beast  is 
"  found  pure  in  all  these  respects,  he  marks  it  by  rolling  a  piece  of 
"  byblus  round  the  horns,  and  then  having  put  on  it  some  sealing 
"  earth,  he  impresses  it  Avith  his  signet :  and  so  they  drive  him 
"  away.  Anyone  who  sacrifices  an  unmarked  animal  is  punished 
"  with  death."  When  an  ox  of  this  class  was  to  be  offered  up  to 
Apis  it  was  led  to  the  altar  and  was  slain  after  a  libation  of  wine 
had  been  poured  out ;  its  head  was  next  cut  off  and  its  body  was 
flayed.  If  the  head  was  not  sold  it  was  thrown  into  the  river  and 
the  following  words  were  said  over  it : — "  If  any  evil  be  about  to 
"  befal  either  those  who  now  sacrifice,  or  Egypt  in  general,  may 
"it  be  averted  on  this  head."  Plutarch  (De  hide,  §50)  and 
Ammianus  Marcellinus  (xxii.  14,  7)  agree  in  stating  that  Apis  was 
only  allowed  to  live  a  certain  number  of  years,  which  was  probably 
twenty-five,  and  it  seems  that  if  he  did  not  die  before  the  end  of 
this  period  he  was  killed  and  buried  in  a  sacred  well,  the  situation 
of  which  was  known  to  a  few  privileged  persons  only. 

The  Egyptians  connected  Apis,  both  living  and  dead,  with 
Osiris,  and  their  beliefs  concerning  the  two  gods  were  very  closely 
associated.  The  soul  of  Apis  was  thought  to  go  to  heaven  after 
the  death  of  the  body  in  which  it  had  been  incarnate,  and  to  join 
itself  to  Osiris,  when  it  formed  with  him  the  dual  god  Asar-Hapi 
or  Osiris- Apis.  Early  in  the  Ptolemaic  period  the  Greeks  ascribed 
to  Asar-Hapi  the  attributes  of  their  god  Hades,  and  Graecized  the 
Egyptian  name  under  the  form  "  Serapis  " ;  both  Egyptians  and 
Greeks  accepted  Serapis  as  the  principal  object  of  their  worship, 
and  after  about  B.C.  250  this  god  was  commonly  regarded  as  the 
male  counterpart  of  Isis.  It  has  already  been  said  that  the  cult 
of  Hapi  or  Apis  is  very  ancient,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt 
that  in  one    place    or   another   the  bull  was  always   worshipped 


350  APIS    BULL 

in  Egypt  as  the  personification  of  strength  and  virility  and  of 
might  in  battle.  Osiris,  as  a  Avater  god,  poured  the  Nile  over  the 
land,  and  Hapi  provided  the  strength  which  enabled  the  Egyptians 
to  plough  it  up  ;  when  theological  systems  began  to  be  made  in 
Egypt  this  ancient  god  was  incorporated  in  them,  and  at  Memphis 
we    find   that   he    was   regarded    as   the    "  second   life  of  Ptah," 

T  //  V  K  '  anc^  a^s0  as  ^e  son  °^  0sn^s-  From  scenes  on  coffins, 
stelae,  etc.,  we  know  that  he  possessed  the  attributes  of  Osiris  the 
great  god  of  the  Underworld,  especially  after  the  XXVIth  Dynasty, 
for  he  is  often  represented  bearing  a  mummy  upon  his  back,  and 
"  Bull  of  Amenti  "  is  a  common  name  of  Osiris.  Egyptian  bronze 
figures  of  the  Apis  Bull  represent  the  god  as  a  very  powerful 
beast,  with  massive  limbs  and  body.  A  triangular  piece  of  silver 
is  fixed  in  the  forehead,  a  disk  and  a  uraeus  are  placed  between 
the  horns,  above  the  fore  and  hind  legs  are  cut  in  outline  figures 
of  vultures  with  outstretched  wings,  and  on  the  back,  also  cut  in 
outline,  is  a  representation  of  a  rectangular  cloth  with  an  orna- 
mental diamond  pattern.  Herodotus  (iii.  28)  says  that  the  patch  of 
white  on  the  forehead  of  Apis  was  square,  Xevkov  TeTpayuvov,  and 
that  the  figure  of  an  eagle  was  on  the  back,  eVi  Se  rod  vanov,  alerbv 
eiKao-fxevov  ;  of  the  beetle  which  he  says  was  on  the  tongue  of  Apis 
and  the  double  hairs  in  the  tail  the  bronze  figures  naturally  show 
no  traces. 

Of  the  tombs  in  which  the  Apis  bulls  were  buried  under  the 
Early  and  Middle  Empires  nothing  is  known,  but  the  discovery  of 
the  famous  Serapeum  at  Sakkara,  called  by  Strabo  (xvii.  1,  §  33) 
the  "  temple  of  Sarapis,"  which,  he  says,  was  "  situated  in  a  very 
"  sandy  spot,  where  the  sand  is  accumulated  in  masses  by  the 
"  wind,"  revealed  the  fact  that  so  far  back  as  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty 
the  bodies  of  the  Apis  bulls  were  mummified  with  great  care,  and 
that  each  was  buried  in  a  rock-hewn  tomb,  above  which  was  a 
small  chapel.  In  the  reign  of  Rameses  II.  a  son  of  this  king, 
called  Kha-em-Uast,  made  a  subterranean  gallery  in  the  rock  at 
Sakkara,  with  a  large  number  of  chambers,  and  as  each  of  these 
was  occupied  by  the  mummied  Apis  in  his  coffin  its  entrance  was 
walled  up,  and  the  remains  of  the  sacred  animals  were  thus 
preserved   for   a   very  long   period.     Psammetichus    I.    hewed    a 


SERAPEUM    OF    SAKKAliA  351 

similar  gallery  in  the  rock,  and  its  side-chambers  were  prepared 
with  great  care  and  thought ;  the  two  galleries  taken  together  are 
about  1200  feet  long,  18  feet  high,  and  10  feet  wide.  Above 
these  galleries  stood  the  great  Temple  of  the  Serapeum,  and 
close  by  was  another  temple  which  was  dedicated  to  Apis  by 
Nectanebus  IT.,  the  last  native  king  of  Egypt.  In  the  Serapeum 
of  Kha-em-Uast  and  Psammetichus  I.  a  number  of  Egyptian  holy 
men  lived  a  stern,  ascetic  life,  and  it  appears  that  they  were 
specially  appointed  to  perform  services  in  connexion  with  the 
commemorative  festivals  of  the  dead  Apis  bulls.  Details  of  the 
rules  of  the  order  are  wanting,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  scheme 
of  life  which  they  lived  there  closely  resembled  that  of  the  followers 
of  Pythagoras,  many  of  whom  were  celibates,  and  that  they 
abstained  from  animal  food,  and  had  all  things  in  common.1  It  is 
interesting  to  note  the  existence  of  the  monks  of  the  Serapeum, 
because  they  form  a  connecting  link  between  the  Egyptian  priests 
and  the  Christian  ascetics  and  monks  who  filled  Egypt  in  the 
early  centuries  of  our  era.  The  worship  of  Apis  continued  in 
Egypt  until  the  downfall  of  paganism,  which  resulted  from  the 
adoption  of  Christianity  by  Constantine  the  Great  and  from  the 
edicts  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius. 

As  Apis  was  the  sacred  Bull  of  Memphis  and  symbolized  the 
Moon,  so  Mnevis  was  the  sacred  Bull  of  Heliopolis  and  typified 
the  Sun,  of  which  he  was  held  to  be  the  incarnation.  The  ancient 
Egyptians  called  the  Bull  of  Heliopolis  Ur-mer,  ^^  LP  y^, 
and  described  him  as  the  "  life  of  Ra  "  ;  he  is  usually  depicted  in 
the  form  of  a  bull  with  a  disk  and  uraeus  between  his  horns,  but 
sometimes  he  appears  as  a  man  with  the  head  of  a  bull.  According 
to  Manetho,  the  worship  of  Mnevis  was  established  in  the  reign  of 
Ka-kau,  a  king  of  the  Ilnd  Dynasty,  together  with  that  of  Apis 
and  the  Ram  of  Mendes,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  coeval 
with  Egyptian  civilization,  and  that  it  was  only  a  portion  of  the 
great  system  of  adoration  of  the  bull  and  cow  as  agricultural  gods 
throughout  Egypt.     Strabo  mentions  (xvii.  1,  §  22)  that  the  people 

1  See  Zeller,  History  of  Greek  Philosophy,  London,  1881,  vol.  i.,  pp.  306-352  ; 
Hitter  and  Preller,  Historic  Phil-Qraece  el  Rontanae,  1878. 


352  MNEVIS    BULL 

of  Momemphis  kept  a  sacred  cow  in  their  city  just  as  Apis  was 
maintained  at  Memphis,  and  Mnevis  at  Heliopolis,  and  adds, 
"  these  animals  are  regarded  as  gods,  but  there  are  other  places, 
"  and  these  are  numerous,  both  in  the  Delta  and  beyond  it,  in 
"  which  a  bull  or  a  cow  is  maintained,  which  are  not  regarded  as 
"  gods,  but  only  as  sacred."  Mnevis,  like  Apis,  was  consecrated 
to  Osiris,  and  both  Bulls  were  "  reputed  as  gods  generally  by  all 
the  Egyptians  ;  "  Diodorus  explains  (i.  24,  9)  this  fact  by  pointing 
out  that  the  bull  was  of  all  creatures  the  "  most  extraordinarily 
"  serviceable  to  the  "first  inventors  of  husbandry,  both  as  to  the 
u  sowing  of  corn,  and  other  advantages  concerning  tillage,  of  which 
"  all  reaped  the  benefit."  The  cult  of  Mnevis  was  neither  so 
widespread  nor  so  popular  as  that  of  Apis,  and  Ammianus 
Marcellinus  says  (xxii.  14,  6)  that  there  is  nothing  remarkable 
related  about  him.  A  curious  story  is  related  by  iElian  (De  Nat. 
Animal,  xii.  11)  to  the  effect  that  king  Bocchoris  once  brought 
in  a  wild  bull  to  fight  against  Mnevis,  and  that  the  savage 
creature  in  attempting  to  gore  the  sacred  animal  miscalculated  his 
distance,  and  having  entangled  his  horns  in  the  branches  of  a 
persea  tree,  fell  an  easy  victim  to  Mnevis,  and  was  slain  by  him. 
The  Egyptians  regarded  this  impious  act  with  great  disfavour,  and 
probably  hated  him  as  they  hated  Cambyses  for  stabbing  Apis. 

Among  the  Egyptians  another  sacred  bull  was  that  of 
Hermonthis  (Strabo,  xvii.  1,  47)  which,  according  to  Macrobius 
(Saturn,  i.  26)  was  called  Bacchis  (or  Bacis,  or  Basis,  or  Pacis), 
and  according  to  iElian  (xii.  11)  Onuphis  ;  the  latter  name  is 
probably  a  corruption  of  some  Egyptian  name  of  Osiris  Un-nefer. 
This  bull  was  black  in  colour,  and  its  hair  turned  a  contrary  way 
from  that  of  all  other  animals,  olvtlcli  8e  avrco  rpt^e?  yj-rrep  ovv  toIs 
d\Xot?  eiaiv ;  it  was  said  to  change  its  colour  every  hour  of  the 
day,  and  was  regarded  as  an  image  of  the  sun  shining  on  the  other 
side  of  the  world,  i.e.,  the  Underworld.     The  Egyptian  equivalent 

of  the  name  Bacis,   or  Bacchis,  is  Bakha,  J  **-=»  ^rrj ,  and  this 

bull  is  styled  the  "  living  soul  of  Ra,"  ^?  T  W  Wi  aQd  the  "  bull 
"  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Sunrise  (Bakhau),  and  the  lion  of  the 
"  Mountain  of  the  Sunset."     He  wears  between  his  horns  a  disk. 


RAM   OF   MENDES  353 

from  which  rise  plumes,  and  a  uraeus  ;  over  his  hindquarters  is 
the  sacred  symbol  of  a  vulture  with  outspread  wings.1 

At  several  places  in  the  Delta,  e.g.,  Hermopolis,  Lycopolis, 
and  Mendes,  the  god  Pan  and  a  goat  were  worshipped  ;  Strabo, 
quoting  (xvii.  1,  19)  Pindar,  says  that  in  these  places  goats  had 
intercourse  with  women,  and  Herodotus  (ii.  46)  instances  a  case 
which  was  said  to  have  taken  place  in  the  open  day.  The 
Mendesians,  according  to  this  last  writer,  paid  reverence  to  all 
goats,  and  more  to  the  males  than  to  the  females,  and  particularly 
to  one  he-goat,  on  the  death  of  which  public  mourning  is  observed 
throughout  the  whole  Mendesian  district ;  they  call  both  Pan  and 
the  goat  Mendes,  and  both  were  worshipped  as  gods  of  generation 
and  fecundity.  Diodorus  (i.  88)  compares  the  cult  of  the  goat  of 
Mendes  with  that  of  Priapus,  and  groups  the  god  with  the  Pans 
and  the  Satyrs.  The  goat  referred  to  by  all  these  writers  is  the 
famous  Mendean  Ram,  or  Ram  of  Mendes,  the  cult  of  which  was, 
according  to  Manetho,  established  by  Kakau,  a  king  of  the  Ilnd 
Dynasty. 

In  the  hieroglyphic  texts  he  is  called  Ba-neb-Tet,  ^^  ^^ 
u  ^ ,  from  which  name  the   Greek  Mendes  is  derived,  and  he  is 
depicted  in  the  form  of  a  ram  with  flat,  branching  horns  which  are 
surmounted  by  a  uraeus  ;  pictures  of  the  god  of  this  kind  are,  of 
course,  traditional,  and  since  goats  of  the  species  of  the  Ram  of 
Mendes  are  not  found  on  Egyptian  Monuments  after  the  period 
of  the   Ancient  Empire,   we  can  only  conclude    that   they   were 
originally  copied  from  representations  of  the  Ram  Avhich  were  in 
use  before  about  B.C.  3500.     Ba-neb-Tet,  or  Mendes,  was  declared 
to  be  the   "  soul  of  Rii,"  but   allowance  must  be  made  for  the 
possibility  that  the  Egyptians  did  not  really  believe  this  statement, 
which  may   only  have  resulted   from  a  play  upon  the  words  ba 
"  ram,"  and  ba  "  soul."     The  cult  of  the  Ram  of  Mendes  was  of 
more  than  local  importance,  and   his   priesthood  was  a  powerful 
body.     The  ram  which  was  adored  at  Mendes  was  distinguished  by 
certain  marks,  even  as  was  Apis,  and  was  sought  for  throughout 
the  country  with  great  diligence  ;  when  the  animal  was  found  he 

1  See  Lanzone,  Diztonarto,  pi.  70. 

ii — a  a 


354  THE   CROCODILE 

was  led  to  the  city  of  Mendes,  and  a  procession  of  priests  and  of 
the  notables  of  the  city  having  been  formed  he  was  escorted  to  the 
temple  and  enthroned  therein  with  great  honour.  From  the  Stele 
of  Mendes  l  we  learn  that  Ptolemy  II. ,  Philadelphus,  rebuilt  the 
temple  of  Mendes,  and  that  he  assisted  at  the  enthronement  of  two 
Rams,  and  in  a  relief  on  the  upper  portion  of  it  two  Ptolemies  and 
an  Arsinoe  are  seen  making  offerings  to  the  Ram,  and  to  a  ram- 
headed  god,  and  his  female  counterpart  Hatmehit.  The  cult  of 
the  Ram  lasted  at  Mendes  until  the  decay  of  the  city,  after  which 
for  a  short  period  it  was  maintained  at  Thmuis,  a  neighbouring 
city,  which  increased  in  importance  as  Mendes  decreased.  In 
primitive  times  the  Ram  of  Mendes  was  a  merely  local  animal  god, 
or  perhaps  only  a  sacred  animal,  but  as  the  chief  city  of  its  cult 
increased  in  importance  the  god  was  identified,  first,  with  the  great 
indigenous  god  Osiris,  secondly,  with  the  Sun-god  Ra,  and  thirdly, 
with  the  great  Ram-god  of  the  South  and  of  Elephantine,  i.e., 
Khnemu. 

Among  the   animals   which  were  worshipped   devoutly  as  a 
result  of  abject  fear  must  be  mentioned  the  crocodile,  which  the 

Egyptians    deified   under   the   name    of   Sebek,     I  J  ^z^>  gg^ ,    or 

Sebeq,    I  a  J  |§\,  and  which  was  called  Souchos,  Hov^os,  by  the 

Greeks.  In  primitive  times  when  the  canals  dried  up  this 
destructive  beast  was  able  to  wander  about  the  fields  at  will,  and 
to  eat  and  kill  whatsoever  came  into  its  way,  and  the  Egyptians 
naturally  regarded  it  as  the  personification  of  the  powers  of  evil 
and  of  death,  and  the  prince  of  all  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  the 
associate  of  Set,  or  Typhon.  According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  69), 
crocodiles  were  sacred  in  some  parts  of  Egypt,  but  were  diligently 
killed  in  others.  At  Thebes  and  near  lake  Moeris  they  were  held 
to  be  sacred,  and  when  tame  the  people  put  crystal  and  gold  ear- 
rings into  their  ears,  and  bracelets  on  their  fore  paws,  and  they  fed 
them  regularly  with  good  food  ;  after  death  their  bodies  were 
embalmed  and  then  buried  in  sacred  vaults.  Herodotus  says  they 
were  called  ^a/xi/zon,  a  word  which  is,  clearly,  a  transliteration  of 

1  Mariette,  Monuments  Divers,  pi.   42;    Aeg.  Zeit.,   1871,   pp.  81-85;    1875, 
p.  33. 


SEBEK-RA. 


THE    CROCODILE  355 

the  Egyptian  word  _|^Pf()()^j>  emsehiu.  Strabo  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  his  visit  to  the  famous  city  of  Crocodilopolis, 
which  in  his  day  was  known  by  the  name  Arsinoe,  and  was  the 
centre  of  crocodile  worship;  and  tells  us  (xvii.  1,  §38),  that  the 
sacred  crocodile  there  "  was  kept  ajDart  by  himself  in  a  lake  ;  it  is 
"  tame,  and  gentle  to  the  priests,  and  is  called  Zoi>xos.  It  is  fed 
"  with  bread,  flesh,  and  wine,  which  strangers  who  come  to  see 
"  it  always  present.  Our  host,  a  distinguished  person,  who  was 
"  our  guide  in  examining  what  was  curious,  accompanied  us  to  the 
"  lake,  and  brought  from  the  supper  table  a  small  cake,  dressed 
"  meat,  and  a  small  vessel  containing  a  mixture  of  honey  and  milk. 
';  We  found  the  animal  lying  on  the  edge  of  the  lake.  The  priests 
"  went  up  to  it ;  some  of  them  opened  its  mouth,  another  put  the 
"  cake  into  it,  then  the  meat,  and  afterwards  poured  down  the 
"  honey  and  milk.  The  animal  then  leaped  into  the  lake,  and 
"  crossed  to  the  other  side.  When  another  stranger  arrived  with 
"  his  offering,  the  priests  took  it,  and  running  round  the  lake, 
"  caught  the  crocodile,  and  gave  him  what  was  brought  in  the 
"  same  manner  as  before." 

In  their  pictures  and  reliefs  the  Egyptians  represented  the 
god  Sebek  in  the  form  of  a  crocodile-headed  man  who  wore  either 
a  solar  disk  encircled  with  a  uraeus,  or  a  pair  of  horns  surmounted 
by  a  disk  and  a  pair  of  plumes  ;  sometimes  a  small  pair  of  horns 
appears  above  the  large  ram's  horns.  Frequently  the  god  is 
depicted  simply  in  the  form  of  the  animal  which  was  sacred  to 
him,  i.e.,  as  a  crocodile.  What  exactly  were  the  attributes  of 
Sebek  in  early  dynastic  times  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but 
it  is  probable  that  they  were  those  of  an  evil  and  destructive 
animal ;  before  the  end  of  the  Vlth  Dynasty,  however,  he  was 
identified  with  Ra,  the  Sun -god,  and  with  the  form  of  Ra  who 
was  the  son  of  Xeith,  and  with  Set  the  opponent  and  murderer  of 
Osiris.  According  to  the  late  Dr.  Brugsch,  Sebek  was  a  four-fold 
deity  who  represented  the  four  elemental  gods,  Ra,  Shu,  Seb,  and 
Osiris,  and  this  view  receives  support  from  the  fact  that  in  the 
vignettes  to  the  xxxist  and  xxxiind  Chapters  of  the  Book  of  the 
Dead,  the  deceased  is  seen  repulsing  four  crocodiles.  The  same 
scholar  thought  that  the  name  of  the  god  was  derived  from  a  root 


356  THE    CROCODILE 

which  signifies  "  to  collect,  to  bring  together,"  and  that  he  was 
called  "  Sebek  "  because  he  was  believed  to  gather  together  that 
which  had  been  separated  by  the  evil  power  of  Set,  and  to  give 
a  new  constitution  and  life  to  the  elements  which  had  been  severed 
by  death.1  This  view  may  be  correct,  but  it  certainly  cannot  be 
very  old,  and  it  cannot  represent  the  opinions  which  the  pre- 
dynastic  Egyptians  held  concerning  the  god.  That,  however, 
Sebek  was  believed  to  be  a  god  who  was  good  to  the  dead  is  clear, 
and  it  was  held  that  he  would  do  for  them  that  which  he  had  done 
in  primitive  times  for  Horus. 

From  the  cviiith  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  we  learn 
that  Sebek,  Temu,  and  Hathor  were  the  Spirits  of  the  West,  and 
that  Sebek  dwelt  in  a  temple  which  was  built  on  the  Mount  of  the 
Sunrise,  and  that  he  assisted  Horus  to  be  re-born  daily.  In  the 
Pyramid  Texts,  Sebek  is  made  to  restore  the  eyes  to  the  deceased, 
and  to  make  firm  his  mouth,  and  to  give  him  the  use  of  his  head, 
and  to  bring  Tsis  and  Nephthys  to  him,  and  to  assist  in  the  over- 
throw of  Set,  the  enemy  of  ev<ery  "  Osiris."  He  opened  the  doors 
of  heaven  to  the  deceased,  and  led  him  along  the  bypaths  and 
ways  of  heaven  and,  in  short,  assisted  the  dead  to  rise  to  the  new 
life,  even  as  he  had  helped  the  child  Horus  to  take  his  seat  upon 
the  throne  of  his  father  Osiris.  The  centre  of  the  cult  of  Sebek 
was  Ombos,  p^i  M  'Z,  Nubit,  where  he  was  held  to  be  the  father 

of  Heru-ur,  and  was  identified  with  Seb,  and  was  called,  "Father 
"  of  the  gods,  the  mighty  one  among  the  gods  and  goddesses,  the 
"great  king,  the  prince  of  the  Nine  Bow  Barbarians."  As  Sebek- 
Ra-Temu  he  was  the  power  of  the  sun  which  created  the  world, 
and  he  is  styled,  "  the  beautiful  green  disk  which  shineth  ever,  the 
"  creator  of  whatsoever  is  and  of  whatsoever  shall  be,  who  proceeded 
"  from  Nu,  and  who  possesses  many  colours  and  many  forms."  2 
Other  important  seats  of  the  cult  of  Sebek  were : — 1.  Silsila  (Khennu, 

Nip  v\  @) ,  where  he  was  adored  with  Tern,  Nu,  Heru-ur,  and 

Heru-Behutet ;  2.  Pa-khent  ( Asf  r|TK  ),  where  he  was  wor- 
shipped with  Amen-Ra ;    3.   Latopolis,  where   he   was   identified 

1  Religion  und  Mythohxjie,  p.  5S8.  2  Brugscli,  Religion,  p.  591. 


The    God    AN-HERU. 


CROCODILE   AND    HYDRUS  357 

with  Heqa,  the  son  of  Shu-Khnemu-Ra  and  Tefhut-Nebuut-Sekket- 
Neith;  4.  Smen  (  1         ©),  where  he  was  merged  in  Ra  and  was 

\  I         AAAAAA  / 

held  to  be  the  father  of  Horus  ;  5.  Pa- Sebek,  near  Hermonthis, 
where  he  formed  the  chief  member  of  the  triad  of  Sebek-Seb,  Nut- 
Hathor,  and  Khensu  ;  6.  Hermonthis,  where  he  was  merged  in 
Menthu,  and  as  Sebek-Seb  became  the  counterpart  of  Menthu-Ra 
and  Amen-Ra,  and  the  head  of  the  company  of  the  gods  of 
Hermonthis  and  Thebes ;  at  Tuphium,  near  Thebes,  where  he  was 
worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  crocodile,  with  a  sun-disk  and  the 
feathers  of  Amen  upon  his  head ;  7.  Krokodilonpolis-Arsinoe, 
the  Shetet,  c  ^  ^ ,  and  Ta-Shetet,  ,   of  the  hieroglyphic 

texts,  which  was  situated  near  Lake  Moeris,  and  was  called  the 
"  city  of  Sebek  "  par  excellence.  In  the  north  of  Egypt  the  chief 
sanctuaries  of  Sebek  were  Prosopis,  Sai's,  Metelis,  Onuphis,  and 
the  city  of  Apis,  which  was  situated  in  the  Libyan  nome ;  x  in  this 
last-named  place  Osiris  was  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a 
crocodile,  aud  Isis  under  the  usual  form  of  Isis. 

From  the  statements  made  about  the  crocodile  by  classical 
writers,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  several  fantastic  notions  were  current 
about  the  animal  in  the  later  period  of  dynastic  history.  Thus 
Ammianus  Marcellinus,  after  describing  the  strength  of  the 
crocodile  (xxii.  15)  says,  "savage  as  these  monsters  are  at  all 
"  other  times,  yet  as  if  they  had  concluded  an  armistice,  they  are 
"  always  quiet,  laying  aside  all  their  ferocity,  during  the  seven 
"  days  of  festival  on  which  the  priests  at  Memphis  celebrate  the 
"  birthday  of  Apis."  Herodotus  (ii.  68)  and  Diodorus  (i.  35),  like 
Aristotle,  declare  that  the  crocodile  has  no  tongue,  an  error  which 
was  wide-spread  in  ancient  times,  and  which  was  commonly 
believed  even  in  the  Middle  Ages  ;  it  was  also  thought  to  eat  no 
food  during  the  coldest  months  of  the  year,  and  to  be  blind  in  the 
water.  Many  crocodiles  were  killed  by  an  animal  called  the 
"  hydrus "  in  the  following  manner.  It  is  related  that  a  little 
bird  called  the  trochilus  was  in  the  habit  of  entering  the  mouth  of 
the  crocodile  as  it  lay  asleep  with  its  jaws  open  "  towards  the 
west,"  and  of  picking  out  the  leeches  which  clung  to  its  teeth  and 

1  For  a  list  of  Sebek  shrines  see  Lanzone.  Dizionario,  pp.  1033-1036. 


358  CROCODILE 

gums.  The  hydrus,  or  ichneumon,  perceiving  this,  would  also 
enter  the  crocodile's  mouth,  and  crawl  along  through  the  throat 
into  its  stomach,  and  having  devoured  its  entrails,  would  crawl 
back  again ;  the  hydrus  also  is  declared  to  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  searching  for  the  eggs  of  the  crocodile,  which  were  always  laid 
in  the  sand,  and  of  breaking  the  shell  of  every  one  which  it  found. 
Notwithstanding  the  reverence  in  which  the  crocodiles  were  held 
in  many  parts  of  Egypt  numbers  of  people  made  a  living  by 
catching  them  and  killing  them.  According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  70) 
and  other  writers,  a  hook  baited  with  the  chine  of  a  pig  was  let 
down  by  the  fishermen  into  the  river,  while  a  young  pig  was  held 
on  the  bank  and  beaten  until  it  squealed  ;  the  crocodile,  hearing 
the  noise,  made  its  way  towards  the  sound  of  the  little  pig's  cries, 
and  coming  across  the  bait  on  the  hook,  straightway  swallowed  it. 
Then  the  men  hauled  in  the  line  and  the  crocodile  was  soon  landed, 
and  its  eyes  having  been  plastered  up,  it  was  slain.  Crocodiles 
at  one  time  were  regarded  as  the  protectors  of  Egypt,  and 
Diodorus  held  the  view  (i.  35)  that  but  for  them  the  robbers  from 
Arabia  and  Africa  would  swim  across  the  Nile  and  pillage  the 
country  in  all  directions. 

The  crocodile  played  a  prominent  part  in  Egyptian  mythology, 
in  which  it  appears  both  as  the  friend  and  foe  of  Osiris;  one 
legend  tells  how  the  creature  carried  the  dead  body  of  Osiris  upon 
its  back  safely  to  land,  and  another  relates  that  Isis  was  obliged  to 
make  the  little  ark  in  which  she  placed  her  son  Horus  of  papyrus 
plants,  because  only  by  this  means  could  she  protect  her  son  from 
the  attack  of  the  crocodile  god  Sebek.  The  later  Egyptian 
astrologers  always  considered  the  animal  to  be  a  symbol  of  the 
Sun,  and  it  is  probable  that  to  its  connexion  with  the  Sun-god 
the  statements  of  iElian  (x.  21)  are  due.  This  writer  remarks 
that  the  female  crocodile  carried  her  eggs  for  sixty  days  before  she 
laid  them,  that  the  number  of  the  eggs  was  sixty,  that  they  took 
sixty  days  to  hatch,  that  a  crocodile  had  sixty  vertebrae  in  its 
spine,  and  sixty  nerves,  and  sixty  teeth  in  its  mouth,  that  its  life 
was  sixty  years,  and  that  its  annual  period  of  fasting  was  sixty 
days.  Among  other  curious  but  mistaken  views  about  the 
crocodile,  Plutarch  (De  hide,  §75)  mentions  that  the  animal  was 


HIPPOPOTAMUS,    LION  359 

looked  upon  as  the  image  of  God,  and  he  explains  the  supposed 
absence  of  a  tongue  by  saying  that  "divine  reason  needeth  not 
speech."  He  credits  the  animal  with  great  wisdom  and  fore- 
knowledge, in  proof  of  which  he  declares  that  in  whatsoever  part 
of  the  country  the  female  lays  her  eggs,  so  far  will  be  the  extent 
of  the  inundation  for  that  season.  All  the  above  mentioned  views 
are  interesting  as  showing  how  legends  of  the  animal  gods  and 
their  powers  grew  up  in  the  later  period  of  dynastic  history,  and 
how  mythological  ideas  were  modified  in  the  course  of  the 
centuries  which  witnessed  the  decay  of  the  old  religion  of  Egypt. 

Like  the  crocodile,  the  Hippopotamus  was  worshipped  by  the 
primitive  Egyptians,   and  the   hippopotamus   goddess  was   called 

Rert,    or   Rertu,    <z>I^L,    and   Ta-urt,    ^  "v\    ^§Dn,    Apet, 

i     W,  Sheput,  ,  etc.,  and  was,  practically,  identified  as  a 

form  of  every  great  goddess  of  Egypt,  irrespective  of  the  probability 
of  her  being  so.  In  predynastic  times  the  hippopotamus  was 
probably  common  in  the  Delta,  and  the  red  and  yellow  breccia 
statue  of  the  animal  which  was  made  in  the  archaic  period,  and  is 
now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  (No.  35,700),  proves  that  its 
cult  is  coeval  with  Egyptian  civilization.  According  to  certain 
theological  systems  the  hippopotamus  goddess  was  the  female 
counterpart  of  Set,  and  the  mother  of  the  Sun-god,  or  of  An-her, 
whom  she  brought  into  the  world  at  Ombos ;  for  this  reason  that 

city  was  called  the  "  Meskhenet,"  ffl  ['  r— 1»  or  "  birth-house," 
of  Apet.  On  the  whole,  the  hippopotamus  goddess  was  a 
beneficent  creature,  and  she  appears  in  the  last  vignette  of  the 
Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  as  a  deity  of  the 
Underworld,  and  a  kindly  guardian  of  the  dead.  She  holds  in  her 
right  forepaw  an  object  which  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily 
explained,  and  her  left  rests  upon  the  emblem  of  "  protective, 
magical  power,"  V ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  monster  Am-mit,  which 
appears  in  the  Judgment  Scene,  has  the  hindquarters  of  a  hippo- 
potamus, a  fact  which  reminds  us  that  the  destructive  power  of 
the  animal  was  not  forgotten  by  the  Egyptian  theologians. 

The  cult  of  the  Lion  was  also  very  ancient  in  Egypt,  and  it 


360  THE    LION 

seems  to  have  been  tolerably  widespread  in  early  dynastic  times ; 
the  animal  was  worshipped  on  account  of  his  great  strength  and 
courage,  and  was  usually  associated  with  the  Sun-god,  Horus  or 
Ra,  and  with  deities  of  a  solar  character.  Under  the  New  Empire 
the  chief  centre  of  the  cult  of  the  lion  was  the  city  of  Leontopolis 
in  the  Northern  Delta,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  sacred  lions 
were  kept  in  the  temples  at  many  places  throughout  Egypt. 
iElian  mentions  (xii.  7)  that  lions  were  kept  in  the  temple  at 
Heliopolis,  and  goes  on  to  say  that  in  the  Lion  City  (Leontopolis) 
the  sacred  lions  were  fed  upon  the  bodies  of  slaughtered  animals, 
and  that  from  time  to  time  a  calf  was  introduced  into  the  lion's  den 
so  that  he  might  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  killing  prey  for  himself; 
whilst  he  was  devouring  his  food  the  priests,  or  men  set  apart  for  the 
purpose,  sang  songs  to  him.  The  original  home  of  the  lion  in  Egypt 
was  the  Delta,  where  he  lived  under  conditions  similar  to  those 
which  existed  in  Southern  Nubia  and  in  the  jungles  of  the  rivers 
Atbara  and  Blue  Nile ;  the  deserts  on  each  side  of  the  Nile 
between  Khartum  and  the  Mediterranean  Sea  of  course  also 
contained  lions,  but  probably  not  in  very  large  numbers.  In 
Egyptian  mythology  the  lion  plays  a  comparatively  prominent 
part,  and  one  of  the  oldest  known  Lion-gods  is  Aker, 


who  was  supposed  to  guard  the  gate  of  the  dawn  through  which 
the  Sun-god  passed  each  morning ;  Aker  is  mentioned  in  the 
Pyramid  Texts  (e.g.,  Unas,  lines  498,  614),  and  from  the 
j)assages  in  which  his  name  occurs  it  is  clear  that  his  position  and 
attributes  were  even  under  the  Early  Empire  well  defined.  In 
later  days  the  Egyptian  mythologists  believed  that  during  the 
night  the  sun  passed  through  a  kind  of  tunnel  which  existed  in 
the  earth,  and  that  his  disappearance  therein  caused  the  night, 
and  his  emerging  therefrom  caused  the  day ;  each  end  of  this 
tunnel  was  guarded  by  a  Lion-god,  and  the  two  gods  were  called 
Akeeu  (or  Akerui)  "^  ^  I ,   or  "|\  ^^  %>  s^a  A  ! .      In   the 

Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Chapter  xvii.)  we 
find  the  Akeru  gods  represented  by  two  lions  which  are  seated 
back  to  back,  and  support  between  them  the  horizon  with  the 
sun's  disk  on  it,  cQd;  in  the  later  theology  they  are  called  Sef  and 


THE   SPHINX  :3<51 

Tuau,  i.e.,  "  Yesterday  "  and  "  To-day  "  respectively.  Because 
the  Egyptians  believed  that  the  gates  of  morning  and  evening 
were  guarded  by  Lion-gods,  they  placed  statues  of  lions  at  the 
doors  of  their  palaces  and  tombs  to  guard  both  the  living  and  the 
dead,  and  to  keep  evil  spirits  and  fleshly  foes  from  entering  into 
the  gates  to  do  harm  to  those  who  were  inside  them.  To  such 
lion  guardians  they  sometimes  gave  the  heads  of  men  and  women, 
and  these  are  familiar  to  us  under  the  name  which  was  given  to 
them  by  the  Greeks,  i.e.,  "  Sphinxes." 

The  oldest  and  finest  human-headed  lion  statue  is  the  famous 

"Sphinx"    at    Gizeh    (in    Egyptian    Hu,    8  \\  _2s&),    which   was 

regarded  as  the  symbol  of  the  Sun-god  Ra-Temu-Khepera-Heru- 
khuti,  and  was  made  to  keep  away  evil  spirits  from  the  tombs 
which  were  round  about  it.  The  age  of  this  marvellous  statue  is 
unknown,  but  it  existed  in  the  time  of  Khephren,  the  builder  of 
the  Second  Pyramid,  and  was,  most  probably,  very  old  even  at 
that  early  period.  It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  "  Sphinx  " 
at  Gizeh  was  intended  to  be  a  guardian  and  protector  of  the  dead 
and  of  their  tombs,  and  nothing  else,  and  the  idea  of  Plutarch  and 
others  that  it  typified  the  enigmatical  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians 
and  strength  and  wisdom  is  purely  fanciful.  The  men  who  made 
the  Sphinx  believed  they  were  providing  a  colossal  abode  for  the 
spirit  of  the  Sun-god  which  they  expected  to  dwell  therein  and 
to  protect  their  dead ;  it  faced  the  rising  sun,  of  which  it  was  a 
mighty  symbol.  The  original  idea  of  the  man-headed  lion  statue 
has  no  connexion  with  the  views  which  the  Greeks  held  about  their 
monstrous  being  the  Sphinx,  who  is  declared  to  have  been  a 
daughter  of  Orthus,  or  Typhon,  and  Chimaera,  or  of  Typhon  and 
Echidna ;  moreover,  Greek  sphinxes  are  winged,  and  their  heads 
and  breasts  are  always  those  of  a  woman,  whilst  Egyptian 
lion  statues  have  sometimes  the  heads  of  men,  and  some- 
times the  heads  of  sheep  or  rams.  The  "  Sphinx "  at  Gizeh  is 
probably  the  product  of  the  beliefs  of  a  school  of  theologians  which 
existed  when  the  cult  of  the  lion  was  common  in  the  Delta  or 
Northern  Egypt,  but  tradition  perpetuated  the  idea  of  "  protection  " 
which  was  connected  with  it,  and  the  architectural  conservatism 


362  LION-HEADED    GODS 

of  the  Egyptians  caused  reproductions  of  it  to  be  made  for  all  the 
great  temples  in  the  country  in  all  periods  of  its  history. 

It  is  a  moot  point  whether  the  lion  was  generally  hunted  in 
Egypt  or  not,  but  it  is  improbable ;  on  the  other  hand  Ave  find 
that  Amen-hetep  III.  boasts  of  having  shot  with  his  own  bow  one 
hundred  and  two  lions  during  the  first  ten  years  of  his  reign,  but 
these  were  undoubtedly  lions  of  Mitanni  and  not  of  Egypt.  The 
bas-reliefs  and  texts  prove  that  Rameses  II.  and  Rameses  III.  each 
possessed  a  tame  lion  which  not  only  accompanied  them  into  battle, 
but  also  attacked  the  enemy  ;  it  is  probable,  however,  that  these 
kings  valued  their  pet  lions  more  as  symbols  of  the  Sun-god  and  of 
his  protective  power,  than  as  effective  combatants.  In  the  Theban 
Book  of  the  Dead  the  double  lion-god  who  is  so  often  mentioned 

under  the  name  <sflj}\  i    is,  of  course,  Shu  and  Tefnut 

or  two  gods  who  were  identified  with  them.     Other  lion-gods  bore 

the   names  Ari-hes-nefer,  n  -o>-  Oil  iJj,  Nefer-Tem,  T     ^   Jn 

Hebi,     rDAflfj,     Heru-neb-Mesen,     ?sj  -^7  ,     Ma-hes 

y  §y   '-^-j    etc.;    lioness-goddesses   were   Pakheth,  .Bsa 

Sekhet,  fly    ®    J),  Menat,   a*ww^?  Renenet,   S^^IA,  Sebqet 

f1  A  J  O  I '      UET-HEEAU,      lg    I  U  ^,       ASTHERTET,      ^  ^  ^ 

and  a  form  of  Hathor,  and  another  of  Nekhebet.  The  destroying 
power  of  the  Lion-god  is  alluded  to  in  the  figure  of  the  monster 
Am-niit,  which  was  part  crocodile,  part  lion,  and  part  hippo- 
potamus. The  vignettes  to  the  cxlvith  and  cxlviith  Chapters  of 
the  Book  of  the  Dead  show  that  lion-headed  deities  guarded  certain 
of  the  halls  and  pylons  of  the  Underworld,  and  some  connexion  of 
the  Lion-god  with  the  dead  is  certainly  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
the  head  of  the  bier  is  always  made  in  the  form  of  the  head  of  a 
lion,  and  that  the  foot  of  it  is  frequently  ornamented  with  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  lion's  tail.  For  an  account  of  Bast,  the  great 
goddess  of  Bubastis,  who  was  depicted  with  the  head  either  of 
a  lioness,  or  of  a  cat,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  section  on  the 
subject. 

In   connexion  with   the  lion   must   be   mentioned  the  Lynx 


The    Goddess    URT-HEKAU. 


LYNX    AND    CAT  363 

and  Cat,  for  each  of  these  animals  played  an  interesting  part  in 
Egyptian  mythology.  The  lynx  was  called  in  Egyptian  Maftet, 
^g^  c±p ,  or  Jp  j^  c^p  <y^iK. ;  the  former  spelling  being  that  of  the 
Pyramid  Texts,  and  the  latter  that  in  use  in  the  Theban  Recension 
of  the  Book  of  the  Dead.  The  animal  is  like  a  large  cat  and  has 
a  small  patch  of  hair  on  the  tip  of  each  ear,  and  its  disposition  is, 
on  the  whole,  benevolent.  In  the  text  of  Unas  (line  548)  allusion 
is  made  to  its  attack  upon  the  serpents  An-ta-f,  h  A  ™~*   A 


and  Tcheser-tep,  ^  II  W7  ®  |^ ,  and  it  is  evident  from  this  that 
the  Lynx-god  was  a  friend  of  the  dead.  In  the  Theban  Recension 
of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  Maftet  takes  part  with  the  gods,  including 
Serqet  and  Maat,  in  overthrowing  the  fiend  Apep  (Chaps,  xxxiv., 
xxxix.,  cxlix.  §  7),  and  we  must  therefore  assume  that  the  lynx 
was  a  destroyer  of  serpents,  and  that  the  Lynx-god  was  supposed 
to  ward  off  the  attacks  of  serpents  from  the  dead. 

The  Cat  was  sacred  to  Bast,  the  goddess  of  Bubastis,  and  was 
regarded  as  her  incarnation  ;  its  cult  is  very  ancient,  and  as  a 
personification  of  the  Sun-god  the  animal  played  a  prominent  part 
in  Egyptian  mythology.  Thus  in  the  xviith  Chapter  of  the  Book  of 
tltf  Dead  mention  is  made  of  a  Cat  which  took  up  its  position  by  the 
Persea  tree  in  Heliopolis  on  the  night  when  the  foes  of  Osiris  were 
destroyed,  and  in  the  commentary  which  follows  it  is  stated  that 
this  "  male  Cat "  was  Ra  himself,  and  that  he  was  called  "  Mau," 

y  (1  v\  ISy ,  by  the  god  Sa,  and  the  vignette  depicts  the  Cat  in  the 

act  of  cutting  off  the  head  of  the  serpent  of  darkness.  In  the 
cxxvth  Chapter  the  deceased  says  (line  11)  in  the  usually  received 
text,  "  I  have  heard  the  mighty  word  which  the  Ass  spake  unto 
"  the  Cat  in  the  House  of  Hapt-re,"  but  what  that  word  was  is  not 
stated.  The  Ass  and  the  Cat  are  forms  of  the  Sun-god,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  deceased  learned  from  them  the  words  which 
would  enable  him,  like  them,  to  vanquish  the  powers  of  darkness. 
From  a  stele  reproduced  by  Signor  Lanzone,1  we  find  that  prayers 
were  offered  to  tiro  cats  by  the  two  women  who  dedicated  it,  but 
whether  these  represented  two  forms  of  the  Cat-god,  or  two  pet 

1  Biziouario,  pi.  107. 


364  DOG-HEADED   APE 

animals  only  is  not  clear.  The  cat  is  here  called  Mait,  |  (](j  d^, 
instead  of  "Mau,"  as  is  usual.  Another  stele1  contains  reliefs 
in  which  worship  is  offered  to  a  swallow  and  a  cat,  and  the 
monuments  and  inscriptions  contain  abundant  evidence  that  the 
greatest  reverence  was  paid  to  the  cat  throughout  Egypt,  even 
as  classical  writers  say.  According  to  Diodorus  (i.  83)  the 
Egyptians  fed  their  cats  on  bread  and  milk  and  slices  of  Nile  fish, 
and  they  called  the  animals  to  their  meals  by  special  sounds.  When 
a  cat  died  its  master  had  it  placed  in  a  linen  sheet  and  taken  to 
the  embalmers,  who  treated  the  body  with  spices  and  drugs,  and 
then  laid  it  in  a  specially  prepared  case.  Whosoever  killed  a  cat, 
wittingly  or  unwittingly,  was  condemned  to  die,  and  an  instance  is 
cited  by  Diodorus  in  which  a  certain  Roman  who  had  killed  a  cat 
was  attacked  in  his  house  by  the  infuriated  populace  and  was  slain. 

Herodotus  narrates  (ii.  68)  that  "When  a  conflagration 
"  takes  place  a  supernatural  impulse  seizes  on  the  cats.  For  the 
"  Egyptians,  standing  at  a  distance,  take  care  of  the  cats,  and 
"  neglect  to  put  out  the  fire  ;  but  the  cats  making  their  escape, 
"  and  leaping  over  the  men,  throw  themselves  into  the  fire  ;  and 
"  when  this  happens  great  lamentations  are  made  among  the 
"  Egyptians.  In  whatsoever  house  a  cat  dies  of  a  natural  death, 
"  all  the  family  shave  their  eyebrows  only  ;  but  if  a  dog  die,  they 
"  shave  the  whole  body  and  the  head.  All  cats  that  die  are 
"carried  to  certain  sacred  houses,  where  being  first  embalmed, 
"  they  are  buried  in  the  city  of  Bubastis." 

Among  the  Egyptians  several  kinds  of  Apes  were  regarded  as 
sacred  animals,  but  the  most  revered  of  all  was  that  which  was 
the  companion  of  Thoth,  and  which  is  commonly  known  as  the 
Dog-headed  Ape.  This  animal  seems  to  have  been  brought  in 
old,  as  in  modern,  times  from  the  country  far  to  the  south  of 
Nubia,  but  whether  this  be  so  or  not  it  is  certain  that  the  Cyno- 
cephalus  ape  found  its  way  into  Egyptian  mythology  at  a  very 
early  period.  In  the  Judgment  Scene  he  sits  upon  the  standard 
of  the  Great  Scales,  and  his  duty  was  to  report  to  his  associate 
Thoth  when  the  pointer  marked  the  middle  of  the  beam.     Classical 

1  Dizionario,  pi.  118. 


ELEPHANT   AND   BEAR  365 

writers  rightly  discuss  this  ape  in  connexion  with  the  moon,  and 
we  know  that  sacred  cynocephali  were  kept  in  many  temples 
which  were  dedicated  to  lunar  gods,  e.g.,  of  Khensu  at  Thebes ; 
certain  classes  of  apes  were  regarded  as  the  spirits  of  the  dawn 
which,  having  sung  hymns  of  praise  whilst  the  sun  was  rising, 
turned  into  apes  as  soon  as  he  had  risen.  The  cult  of  the  ape  is 
very  ancient,  and  is  probably  pre-dynastic,  in  which  period  dead 
apes  were  embalmed  with  great  care  and  buried. 

In  dynastic  times  the  Elephant  could  not  have  been  a  sacred 
animal  in  Egypt  because  he  had  long  before  withdrawn  himself 
to  the  swamps  and  lands  of  the  reaches  of  the  White  and  Blue 
Niles.  The  Island  opposite  Syene  was  not  called  "  Elephantine  " 
because  the  elephant  was  worshipped  there,  but  probably  because 
it  resembled  the  animal  in  shape,  just  as  the  city  on  the  tongue  of 
land  at  the  junction  of  the  White  and  Blue  Niles  was  called 
"Khartum,"  i.e.,  "elephant's  trunk"  on  account  of  its  resemblance 
in  shape  to  that  portion  of  an  elephant's  body.  It  is,  however, 
quite  certain  that  great  reverence  must  have  been  paid  to  the 
elephant  in  predynastic  times,  because  on  the  top  of  one  of  the 
standards  painted  on  predynastic  pottery  x  we  find  the  figure  of 
an  elephant,  a  fact  which  indicates  that  it  was  the  god  either  of 
some  great  family  or  district. 

The  existence  of  the  Bear  in  Egypt  has  not  been  satisfactorily 
proved,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  this  animal  was  indigenous.  In  a 
passage  in  the  Fourth  Sallier  Papyrus,3  which  was  translated  by 
Chabas,  it  is  said  that  when  Horus  and  Set  fought  together  they 
did  so  first  in  the  form  of  two  men,  and  that  they  then  changed 
themselves  into  two  bears  (ils  se  frapperent  l'un  l'autre  etant  sur  la 
plante  de  leurs  pieds,  sous  la  forme  de  deux  hommes ;  ils  se 
changerent  en  deux  ours,  etc.).     Now  the  word  rendered  "bears" 

by  Chabas  is  tell,  <=^>  J  (](]  V,  which  he  compared  with  the  well- 
known  Hebrew  word,  nil,  "  bear " ;  but  he  appears  to  have  for- 
gotten the  Hebrew  word  2X],   "  wolf,"  with   which  tebi  is  most 

1  See  J.  de  Morgan,  Recherches  sur  les  Oriyines,  Paris,  1897,  p.  93.  A  carnelian 
elephant  amulet  is  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  (4th  Eg.  Room,  Table  Case  P, 
No.  626  [14,608]). 

2  Chabas,  Le  Calendrier,  p.  28. 


366  DOG   AND    WOLF 

]3robably  connected,  and  which  provides  a  more  reasonable  sugges- 
tion for  translating  the  Egyptian  text  correctly.  That  bears  did 
exist  in  Egypt  in  the  Predynastic  and  Archaic  Periods  is  proved 
by  the  green  slate  or  schist  model  of  a  bear  which  is  preserved  in 
the  British  Museum  (3rd  Eg.  Room,  Table-case  L,  No.  29,416). 
According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  67)  there  were  bears  in  Egypt,  though 
he  says  they  were  few,  ra<>  8e  ap/crou<?,  iovcras,  cnraviaq,  and  as  he 
mentions  them  with  wolves  it  is  probable  that  the  animals  to  which 
he  refers  were  not  bears  but  a  species  of  wolf. 

The  Dog,  though  a  very  favourite  animal  of  the  Egyptians, 
ajopears  never  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  god,  although  great 
respect  was  paid  to  the  animal  in  the  city  of  Cynopolis  ;  on  the 
other  hand  Herodotus  tells  us  (ii.  66)  that  in  "  whatsoever  house  a 
"  cat  dies  of  a  natural  death,  all  the  family  shave  their  eyebrows 
"  only  ;  but  if  a  dog  die,  they  shave  the  whole  body  and  head  .... 
"  All  persons  bury  their  clogs  in  sacred  vaults  within  their  own 
"  city."  If  any  wine,  or  corn,  or  any  other  necessary  of  life 
happened  to  be  in  a  house  when  a  dog  died  its  use  was  prohibited  : 
and  when  the  body  had  been  embalmed  it  was  buried  in  a  tomb 
amid  the  greatest  manifestations  of  grief  by  those  to  whom  it 
belonged.  If  we  accept  the  statement  of  Diodorus  (i.  85)  that  a 
dog  was  the  guardian  of  the  bodies  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  and  that 
dogs  guided  Isis  in  her  search  for  the  body  of  Osiris,  and  protected 
her  from  savage  beasts,  we  should  be  obliged  to  admit  that  the  dog 
played  a  part  in  Egyptian  mythology ;  but  there  is  no  reason  for 
doing  so,  because  it  is  clear  that  Diodorus,  like  many  modern 
writers,  confounded  the  dog  with  the  jackal.  The  dog,  like  the 
jackal,  may  have  been  sacred  to  Anubis,  but  the  mythological  and 
religious  texts  of  all  periods  prove  that  it  was  the  jackal-god  who 
ministered  to  Osiris,  and  who  acted  as  guide  not  only  to  him  but 
to  every  other  Osiris  in  the  Underworld. 

Like  the  dog,  the  Wolf  enjoyed  considerable  respect  in 
certain  parts  of  Egypt,  e.g.,  the  Wolf-city,  Lycopolis,  but  there  is 
reason  for  thinking  that  ancient  writers  confounded  the  wolf  with 
the  jackal.  Thus  Herodotus  tells  us  (ii.  122)  of  a  festival  which 
was  celebrated  in  connexion  with  the  descent  of  Rhampsinitus  into 
the    Underworld,    and    says   that   on  a  certain   day   "  the  priests 


JACKAL   AND    ASS  367 

"  having  woven  a  cloak,  blind  the  eyes  of  one  of  their  number 
"  with  a  scarf  and  having  conducted  him  with  the  cloak  on  him  to 
"  the  way  that  leads  to  the  temple  of  Ceres,  they  then  return  ; 
"  upon  which,  they  say,  this  priest  with  his  eyes  bound  is  led  by 
"  two  wolves  to  the  temple  of  Ceres,  twenty  stades  distant  from 
"  the  city,  and  afterwards  the  wolves  lead  him  back  to  the  same 
"place."  The  two  wolves  here  referred  to  can  be  nothing  but 
representatives  of  the  jackal-gods  Anpu  and  Ap-uat,  who  played 
very  prominent  parts  in  connexion  with  the  dead.  Another 
legend  recorded  by  Diodorus  (i.  88)  declares  that  when  Horus  was 
making  ready  to  do  battle  with  Set,  his  father's  murderer,  Osiris 
returned  from  the  Underworld  in  the  form  of  a  wolf  to  assist  him 
in  the  fight.  It  is  important  to  note  here  the  statement  of 
Macrobius,  who  says  (Saturn,  i.  19)  that  Apollo,  i.e.,  Horus,  and 
the  wolf  were  worshipped  at  Lycopolis  with  equal  reverence,  for 
it  connects  the  wolf  with  Horus  and  Set,  and  indicates  that  these 
gods  fought  each  other  in  the  forms  of  wolves  and  not  of  bears. 
Legends  of  this  kind  prove  that  the  Egyptians  did  not  carefully 
distinguish  between  the  wolf,  jackal,  and  dog. 

At  a  very  early  period  the  Jackal  was  associated  with  the 
dead  and  their  tombs,  because  he  lived  in  the  mountains  and 
deserts  wherein  the  Egyptians  loved  to  be  buried.  The  principal 
jackal-gods  were  Anpu  (Anubis)  and  Ap-uat ;  for  accounts  of 
these  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  sections  which  describe  their 
history  and  attributes. 

The  Ass,  like  many  animals,  was  regarded  by  the  Egyptians 
both  as  a  god  and  a  devil.  In  a  hymn  to  Ra  as  found  in  the 
Papyrus  of  Ani  (sheet  1,  line  14),  the  deceased  says,  "May  I 
"journey  forth  upon  earth,  may  I  smite  the  Ass,  may  I  crush  the 
"  serpent-fiend  Sebau  ;  may  I  destroy  Apep  in  his  hour,"  a  passage 
which  proves  that  the  animal  was  associated  with  Apep,  and  Set, 
and  the  other  gods  of  darkness  and  evil.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
xlth  Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  is  entitled  the  "  Chapter  of 
driving  back  the  Eater  of  the  Ass,"  and  its  vignette  shows  us  the 
deceased  in  the  act  of  spearing  a  monster  serpent  which  has 
fastened  its  jaws  in  the  back  of  an  ass.  Here  the  ass  is  certainly 
a  form  of  the  Sun-god,  and  the  serpent  is  Hai,  a  form  of  Apep, 


368  THE   PIG 

and  it  is  clear  from  this  that  the  ass  was  at  one  period  held  to  be 
a  god.  In  the  cxxvth  Chapter  we  are  told  that  the  Ass  held  a 
conversation  with  the  Cat,  and  the  passage  in  which  the  statement 
occurs  affords  additional  proof  that  the  ass  was  a  symbol  of  the 
Sun-god.  The  probable  explanation  of  the  existence  of  these  two 
opposite  views  about  the  ass  is  that  Egyptian  opinion  changed 
about  the  animal,  and  that  the  later  form  of  it  held  the  ass  to  be 
a  devil  and  not  a  god  as  in  the  oldest  times.  Plutarch  records  a 
legend  (De  hide,  §  31)  to  the  effect  that  Typhon,  i.e.,  Set,  escaped 
from  out  of  the  battle  with  Horus  on  the  back  of  an  ass,  and  that 
after  he  had  got  into  a  place  of  safety  he  begat  two  sons,  Hiero- 
solymus  and  Judaeus ;  but  no  reliance  can  be  placed  on  a  state- 
ment which  is  so  absurd  on  the  face  of  it. 

The  Pig  possessed  a  reputation  for  evil  in  Egypt,  as  in  many 
other  countries  of  the  East,  and  the  Egyptians  always  associated 
the  animal  with  Set  or  Typhon.  The  cxiith  Chapter  of  the  Booh 
of  the  Dead  supplies  us  with  the  reason  why  it  was  held  in  such 
abomination,  and  tells  us  that  Ra  said  to  Horus  one  day,  "  Let  me 
"  see  what  is  coming  to  pass  in  thine  eye,"  and  having  looked,  he 
said  to  Horus,  "  Look  at  that  black  pig."  Thereupon  Horus 
looked,  and  he  immediately  felt  that  a  great  injury  was  done  to 
his  eye,  and  he  said  to  Ra,  "  Verily,  my  eye  seemeth  as  if  it  were 
"  an  eye  upon  which  Suti  had  inflicted  a  blow."  The  text  goes  on 
to  say  that  the  black  pig  was  no  other  than  Suti,  who  had  trans- 
formed himself  into  a  black  pig,  and  had  aimed  the  blow  which 
had  damaged  the  eye  of  Horus.  As  the  result  of  this  the  god  Ra 
ordered  his  companion  gods  to  regard  the  pig  as  an  abominable 
animal  in  future.  According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  47),  if  an  Egyptian 
had  only  his  garment  touched  by  a  pig  he  would  go  straightway 
to  the  Nile  and  plunge  into  it  to  cleanse  himself  from  pollution. 
The  same  writer  tells  us  that  swineherds  were  the  only  men  who 
were  not  allowed  to  enter  any  of  the  temples,  and  that  the 
Egyptians  sacrificed  the  pig  to  the  moon  and  Bacchus  only.  The 
poor,  through  want  of  means,  used  to  make  pigs  of  dough,  and 
having  baked  them,  they  would  offer  them  up  as  sacrifices,  but 
the  wealthy,  having  seen  the  tip  of  the  tail  of  the  animal  and  its 
spleen,  and  caul,  and  fat  from  the  belly  burnt  in  the  fire,  would 


SHREW-MOUSE,    HEDGEHOG  369 

eat  the  flesh  at  the  period  of  full  moon,  but  at  no  other  time, 
Horapollo  (ii.  37)  says  that  the  hog  was  the  symbol  of  a  filthy 
man,  and  iElian,  in  his  account  of  the  pig  (De  Natura  Auiunilium, 
x.  16),  after  stating  that  it  eats  human  flesh,  goes  on  to  say  that 
the  Egyptians  abominated  it  more  than  any  other  animal.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  kept  pigs  and  did  not  sacrifice  them  too 
abundantly,  because  they  employed  them  to  tread  the  grain  into 
the  ground  with  their  feet.  According  to  the  Rubric  to  the 
cxxvth  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  the  vignette  was  to  be 
drawn  in  colour  upon  "  a  new  tile  moulded  from  earth  upon  which 
"  neither  a  pig  nor  any  other  animal  hath  trodden."  Why,  how- 
ever, the  pig  should  be  especially  mentioned  is  hard  to  say.  From 
one  point  of  view  the  pig  was  a  sacrosanct  animal,  and  it  is  clear 
that  the  idea  of  its  being  holy  arose  from  its  connexion  with  Osiris  ; 
the  texts,  unfortunately,  do  not  explain  its  exact  connexion  with 
this  god,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  Egyptians  of  the  dynastic  period 
themselves  possessed  any  definite  information  on  the  subject. 

Though  representations  of  the  Bat,  called  in  the  texts  setcha- 

l-hemu,  H  J  '^  e  |\   ^ ,  and  taki  c^>  "%\  S  (1(1 ,  have  been  found 

in  Egyptian  tombs,  proof  is  wanting  that  it  was  worshipped  by 
the  Egyptians  of  the  dynastic  period  ;  a  green  slate  model  of  a 
bat  was,  however,  found  with  other  predynastic  remains  in  Upper 
Egypt,  and  it  seems  that  it  must  have  been  regarded  at  least  as  a 
sacred  creature. 

Among  small  animals  the  Shrew-mouse  and  the  Hedgehog 
were  considered  to  be  sacred,  but  the  texts  afford  no  informa- 
tion about  the  parts  which  they  played  in  Egyptian  mythology  ; 
figures  of  both  animals  in  porcelain  and  bronze  have  been 
found  in  the  tombs.  According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  67)  the  shrew- 
mouse  was  sacred  to  the  goddess  Buto,  i.e.,  Uatchit,  and  all 
mummies  of  the  animal  were  buried  in  her  city  ;  one  legend  about 
it  declared  that  Uatchit  took  the  form  of  the  shrew-mouse  that  she 
might  be  the  better  able  to  escape  from  Typhon,  who  was  seeking 
to  destroy  Horus,  the  son  of  Osiris,  after  he  had  been  committed 
to  her  charge.  Curiously  enough,  the  shrew-mouse  was  thought 
by  the  Egyptians  to  be  a  blind  animal,  and  Plutarch  declares 
ii — b  b 


370  ICHNEUMON 

(Symp.  iv.  5)  that  it  was  held  to  be  the  proper  symbol  of  darkness ; 
in  connexion  with  this  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  inscriptions 
on  the  bronze  figures  of  the  animal  identify  it  with  Heru-khent- 
an-maa,  i.e.,  the  "  Blind  Horus,"  or,  "  Horus  who  dwelleth  in 
darkness." 

The  Ichneumon,  in  Egyptian  Jchatru,  T  "v\     °    "v\ ,  in  Coptic 

cy<^eoY?\,  as  a  destroyer  of  snakes  and  the  eggs  of  crocodiles,  has 
formed  the  subject  of  many  curious  legends  which  have  been 
preserved  by  classical  writers.1  Pliny  says  that  "  it  plunges  itself 
"  repeatedly  into  the  mud,  and  then  dries  itself  in  the  sun :  as  soon 
"  as,  by  these  means,  it  has  armed  itself  with  a  sufficient  number 
"  of  coatings,  it  proceeds  to  the  combat.  Raising  its  tail,  and 
"turning  its  back  to  the  serpent,  it  receives  its  stings,  which  are 
"  inflicted  to  no  purpose,  until  at  last,  turning  its  head  sideways, 
"  and  viewing  its  enemy,  it  seizes  it  by  the  throat."  The 
ichneumon  was  said  to  destroy  not  only  the  eggs  of  the  crocodile, 
but  also  the  animal  itself.  According  to  Strabo,  their  habit  was 
to  lie  in  wait  for  the  crocodiles,  when  the  latter  were  basking  in 
the  sun  with  their  mouths  wide  open  ;  they  then  dropped  into 
their  jaws,  and  eating  through  their  intestines  and  belly  issued 
forth  from  the  dead  body.  Diodorus  declares  that  the  ichneumon 
only  breaks  the  eggs  with  the  idea  of  rendering  a  service  to  man, 
and  thinks  that  the  creature  derives  no  benefit  itself  from  its  act, 
and  he  goes  on  to  say  that  but  for  the  ichneumon  the  number  of 
crocodiles  would  be  so  great  that  no  one  would  be  able  to  approach 
the  Nile.  Several  figures  of  the  iclmeumon  in  bronze  have  been 
found  in  the  tombs,  but  the  texts  supply  no  information  about  the 
beliefs  which  the  Egyptians  entertained  about  this  remarkable 
animal.  Modern  naturalists  have  shown  that  there  is  no  truth  in 
the  statement  that  it  is  immune  from  the  effects  'of  snake-bite,  or 
that  having  been  bitten  it  has  recourse  to  the  root  of  a  certain 
plant  as  an  antidote  ;  the  fact  is  that  its  great  agility  and  quickness 
of  eye  enable  it  to  avoid  the  fangs  of  the  serpent,  and  to  take  the 
first  opportunity  of  fixing  its  own  teeth  in  the  back  of  the  reptile's 

1  Herodotus,  ii.    67;    Diodorus,  i.  87;    Strabo,   xvii.,  i.    39;    Plutarch,   Be 
Iside,  §  74 ;  iElian,  vi.  38 ;  Aristotle,  Hist.  Anim.,  ix.  6 ;  Pliny,  viii.  36. 


HARE,    PHOENIX  371 

neck.  It  is  very  fond  of  eggs,  and  for  this  reason  seeks  out  those 
of  the  crocodile  with  great  avidity,  but  it  loves  equally  well  the 
eggs  of  poultry,  and  in  consequence  it  sometimes  bears  an  evil 
reputation  among  the  keepers  of  hens,  turkeys,  etc. 

The  Hare  was  worshipped  as  a  deity,  and  in  the  vignette  of 
the  Elysian  Fields  we  see  a  hare-headed  god,  and  a  snake-headed 
god,  and  a  bull-headed  god  sitting  side  by  side ;  a  hare-headed 
god  also  guards  one  of  the  Seven  Halls  in  the  Underworld.  The 
Hare-god  was  probably  called  Unnu.1 

Among  the  birds  which  were  worshipped  by  the  Egyptians, 
or  held  to  be  sacred,  the  following  were  the  most  important : — 
1.  The  Bennu,  ^^,  a  bird  of  the  heron  species  which  was 
identified  with  the  Phoenix.  This  bird  is  said  to  have  created 
itself,  and  to  have  come  into  being  from  out  of  the  fire  which 
burned  on  the  top  of  the  sacred  Persea  Tree  of  Heliopolis ;  it 
was  essentially  a  Sun-bird,  and  was  a  symbol  both  of  the  risino- 
sun  and  of  the  dead  Sun-god  Osiris,  from  whom  it  sprang,  and 
to  whom  it  was  sacred.  The  Bennu  not  only  typified  the  new 
birth  of  the  sun  each  morning,  but  in  the  earliest  period  of 
dynastic  history  it  became  the  symbol  of  the  resurrection  of 
mankind,  for  a  man's  spiritual  body  was  believed  to  sprint 
from  the  dead  physical  body,  just  as  the  living  sun  of  to-day  had 
its  origin  in  the  dead  sun  of  yesterday.  The  Bennu  sprang  from 
the  heart  of  Osiris,  and  was,  in  consequence,  a  most  holy  bird  ;  in 
a  picture  reproduced  by  Signor  Lanzone,2  it  is  represented  sitting 
on  the  branches  of  a  tree  which  grows  by  the  side  of  a  sepulchral 
chamber.  In  the  lxxxiiird  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead, 
which  provides  the  formula  for  enabling  the  deceased  to  take  the 
form  of  the  Bennu,  this  bird  says,  "  I  came  into  being  from  unformed 
"  matter.     I  came  into  existence  like  the  god  Khepera.     I  am  the 

"  germs  of  every  god,"     °    Vvft  c  ^^    |  ^37*     According 

°  J  °      7      ^^^  $>±       A     ^=^"  III  I  ° 

to  Herodotus  (ii.  77),  the  phoenix  only  made  its  appearance  once  in 


1  "  Unnut,  lady  of  Unnut,"  -^>  O  ^   ^37   ^>  0  @  ,  is  the  female  form 

0      ,  «...',*«       @  Q  "^  ^  © 

oee  Lanzone,  JJizumario,  pi.  o2. 

-  D!;:iortarto,  pi.  70. 


372  VULTURE,    HAWK 

five  hundred  years ;  his  plumage  was  partly  golden-coloured  and 
partly  red,  and  in  size  and  form  he  resembled  an  eagle.  He  came 
from  Arabia,  and  brought  with  him  the  body  of  his  father,  which 
he  had  enclosed  in  an  egg  of  myrrh,  to  the  temple  of  the  sun,  and 
buried  him  there.  Pliny  says  (x.  3)  that  when  the  phoenix 
became  old  he  built  a  nest  of  cassia  and  sprigs  of  incense,  and  that 
having  filled  it  with  perfumes  he  lay  down  and  died.  From  his 
bones  and  marrow  there  sprang  a  small  worm  which  in  process  of 
time  changed  into  a  little  bird,  which,  having  buried  the  remains 
of  its  predecessor,  carried  off  the  nest  to  the  City  of  the  Sun. 

2.  The  Vultuee  was  the  symbol  of  the  goddesses  Nekhebet, 
Mut,  Neith,  and  others  who  were  identified  with  Nekhebet ;  the 
cult  of  the  vulture  is  extremely  ancient  in  Egypt,  and  dates 
probably  from  predynastic  times,  for  one  of  the  oldest  titles  of  the 
Pharaohs  of  Egypt  is  "  Lord  of  the  city  of  the  Vulture  (Nekhebet, 
or  Eileithyiapolis),  lord  of  the  city  of  the  Uraeus"  (Uatchet,  or 
Buto),  and  it  is  found  engraved  on  monuments  of  the  late  pre- 
dynastic and  early  archaic  periods.  iElian,  in  describing  the 
vultures  (ii.  46),  says  that  they  hover  about  the  dead  and  dying, 
and  eat  human  flesh,  and  that  they  follow  men  to  battle  as  if 
knowing  that  they  would  be  slain.  According  to  this  writer,  all 
vultures  are  females,  and  no  male  vulture  was  ever  known ;  to 
obtain  young  they  turn  their  backs  to  the  south,  or  south-east 
wind,  which  fecundates  them,  and  they  bring  forth  young  after 
three  years. 

3.  The  Hawk  was  sacred  to  Horus,  Ra,  Osiris,  Seker,  and  to 
other  cognate  gods,  and  its  worship  was  universal  throughout  Egypt 
in  predynastic  times ;  the  centre  of  the  cult  of  the  Hawk-god  was 
Hieraconpolis,  or  the  "  Hawk  City."  The  hawk  was  not  only  a 
Sun-bird  but,  when  represented  with  a  human  head,  was  symbolic 
of  the  human  soul.  According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  65),  death  was 
the  punishment  of  the  man  who  killed  a  hawk  or  an  ibis,  and 
Diodorus  records  (i.  83)  that  the  sacred  hawks  were  maintained 
at  the  public  expense,  and  that  they  would  come  to  their  keepers 
when  called,  and  would  catch  the  pieces  of  raw  meat  which  they 
threw  to  them  in  full  flight.  The  Egyptians  venerated  two 
species,  i.e.,    the   golden   hawk,    j]  h  ^^*  ^tQ  /ww^  f^H^    an(j   ^he 


HERON,    SWALLOAV  37:3 

sacred  hawk,   J  (1  ^z^>  vv    1  <=> 3  ;  from  the  lxxviith  Chapter  of 

the  Book  of  the  Dead  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  former  was 
supposed  to  be  four  cubits  wide,  and  that  it  was  identified  with 
the  Bennu,  or  Phoenix,  is  proved  by  the  words  in  the  texts  which 
are  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  deceased,  "  I  have  risen,  and  I  have 
"  gathered  myself  together  like  the  beautiful  hawk  of  gold,  which 
"  hath  the  head  of  a  Bennu,  and  Ra  entereth  in  day  by  day  to 
"  hearken  unto  my  words."  The  divine  hawk  was,  as  we  learn 
from  the  lxxviiith  Chapter,  the  offspring  of  Tern,  and  the  symbol  of 
the  One  God,  and  of  Horus  as  the  successor  of  his  father  Osiris,  to 
whom  "  millions  of  years  minister,  and  whom  millions  of  years 
"  hold  in  fear ;  for  him  the  gods  labour,  and  for  him  the  gods  toil 
"  millions  of  years." 

4.  The  Heron,     x    ^,  was  certainly  a  sacred  bird,  and  that 

AA/WVA     \\ 

its  body  was  regarded  as  a  possible  home  for  a  human  soul  is 
proved  by  the  lxxxivth  Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  which 
was  composed  with  the  view  of  helping  a  man  to  effect  a  trans- 
formation into  a  heron. 

5.  The  Swallow  also  was  a  bird  wherein  the  human  soul 
might  reincarnate  itself,  and  the  object  of  the  lxxxvith  Chapter  of 
the  Book  of  the  Dead  was  to  enable  it  to  do  so ;  the  Rubric  of  the 
Chapter  declares  that  if  it  be  known  by  the  deceased,  "  he  shall 
"  come  forth  by  day,  and  he  shall  not  be  turned  back  at  any  gate 
"  in  the  Underworld,  and  that  he  shall  make  his  transformations 
"  into  a  swallow  regularly  and  continually."  In  the  opening 
words  the  deceased  is  made  to  say,  "  I  am  a  swallow,  I  am  a 
"  swallow,  I  am  the  Scorpion,  the  daughter  of  Ra,"  a  fact  which 
seems  to  show  that  the  swallow  was  connected  with  the  Scorpion- 
goddess  [Serqet.  From  a  tablet  at  Turin,  which  is  published  by 
Signor  Lanzone,1  we  see  that  offerings  were  made  to  the  swallow ; 
the  bird  is  seen  perched  upon  a  pylon-shaped  building,  before 
which  stands  a  table  loaded  with  offerings,  and  above  are  a  few 
short  lines  of  text  in  which  it  is  called  the  "  beautiful  swallow," 

^,  T  ^fe .     According  to  Plutarch,  the  goddess  Isis 

1  Bizionario,  pi.  118. 


374  GOOSE 

took  upon  herself  the  form  of  a  swallow  when  she  was  lamenting 
the  death  of  Osiris. 

6.  The  Goose,  or  at  least  one  species  of  it,  was  sacred  to 
Amen-Ra,  a  fact  which  is  hard  to  explain.  In  a  drawing 
o-iven  by  Signor  Lanzone l  we  have  a  vase  of  flowers  resting 
upon   the    ends   of  two   pylon-shaped  buildings,  and   on  each    of 

these   stands  a  goose  with  its   shadoAv,  T,    behind   it,  or   by  its 

side  ;  the  five  lines  of  the  text  above  read,  "  Amen-Ra,  the  beautiful 
Goose,"  and  "  the  beautiful  Goose  of  Amen-Ra."  In  another  scene 
which  is  likewise  reproduced  2  by  Lanzone,  is  depicted  a  goose  with 
its  shadow  standing  on  a  building  as  before,  and  opposite  to  it 
is  seated  Amen-Ra ;  before  the  god  and  the  goose  is  a  table  of 
offerings.  The  words  above  the  god  read,  "  Amen-Ra,  the  hearer 
of  entreaty,"  and  those  over  the  goose  are  "  the  beautiful  Goose, 

greatly  beloved,"  Q  =  °^^Mi,^P=r^~=  T' 
In  the  earliest  time  the  goose,  or  rather  gander,  was  associated 
with  Seb  the  erpdt,     a       ,  of  the  gods,  who  is  called  in  the  Boole 

of  the  Dead  "the  Great  Cackler"  (Chapters  liv.,  lv.).  The  goose 
was  a  favourite  article  of  food  in  Egypt,  and  was  greatly  in 
request  for  offerings  in  the  temples ;  according  to  Herodotus 
(ii.  37)  a  portion  of  the  daily  food  of  the  priests  consisted  of  goose 
flesh.  The  goose  is  said  to  have  been  sacred  to  Isis,  and  the  centre 
of  the  great  trade  in  the  bird  was  X-iqvo^oaKiov,  or  XrjvofiocrKia 
(Chenoboscium  or  Chenoboscia),  i.e.,  the  "  Goose  pen,"  a  town  in 
Upper  Egypt,  which  was  situated  in  the  nome  Diospolites,  and  was 
quite  near  to  the  marshes  wherein  large  numbers  of  geese  were 
fattened  systematically.  The  Copts  gave  the  name  of  "  Sheneset " 
to   the   town,    and   this   has    been   identified   with  the   Egyptian 

Isn^  r|  ,  "  Het-sa-Ast,"  by  Brugsch;3  on  the  other  hand 
M.  Amelineau  thinks  that  the  Greek  name  Chenoboskion  is  derived 
from  the  words  y  TqTqT  ^j\  * — D  /wwvv  lbs,  '  n^>  which,  he  says, 
are  equivalent  in  meaning  to  "  the  place  where  the  geese  are 
fattened."     The  meaning  of  the  goose  as  a  hieroglyphic  is  "  child  " 

1  Dizionario,  pi.  22.  =  Ibid.,  pi.  361.  s  Diet.  Geog.,  p.  659. 


IBIS  375 

or  "son,"  and  Horapollo  goes  so  far  as  to  say  (i.  53)  that  it  was 
chosen  to  denote  a  son  from  its  love  to  its  young,  being  always 
ready  to  give  itself  up  to  the  hunter  if  only  they  might  be  pre- 
served, and  that  owing  to  this  trait  in  its  character  the  Egyptians 
revered  it. 

7.  The  Ibis  was  universally  venerated  throughout  Egypt,  and 

the  centre  of  its  cult  in  very  early  times  was  the  city  of  Khemennu, 

or   Hermopolis,   where   the   bird   was   associated  with  the   Moon 

and  with  Thoth,  the  scribe  of  the  gods.1     It  seems  to  have  been 

worshipped   in   the   first   instance   because   it    killed    snakes   and 

reptiles  in  general  in  large  numbers,  and  it  was  thought  to  destroy 

the  winged  serpents,  which,  it  was  declared,  were  brought  over 

into  Egypt  from  the  deserts  of  Libya  by  the  west  wind.    Herodotus 

tells  us  that  he  once  went  to  a  certain  place  in  Arabia,  almost 

exactly  opposite  the  city  of  Buto,  to  make  inquiries  concerning 

the  winged  serpents.     On  his  arrival  he  "  saw  the  back-bones  and 

'  ribs  of  serpents  in  such  numbers  as  it  is  impossible  to  describe  ; 

•  of  the  ribs  there  were  a  multitude  of  heaps,  some  great,  some 

'small,  some  middle-sized.     The  place  where  the  bones  lie  is  at 

'  the  entrance  of  a  narrow  gorge  between  steep  mountains,  which 

'  there  open  upon  a  spacious  plain  communicating  with  the  great 

'  plain    of    Egypt.      The    story   goes,  that   with    the   spring,  the 

'  winged    snakes    come  flying   from   Arabia   towards  Egypt,   but 

'  are  met  in  this  gorge  by  the  birds  called  ibises,  who  forbid  their 

'  entrance  and  destroy  them  all.     The  Arabians   assert,  and  the 

'  Egyptians  also  admit,  that  it  is  on  account  of  the  service  thus 

'  rendered  that  the  Egyptians  hold  the  ibis  in  so  much  reverence. 

'  The  ibis  is  a  bird  of  a  deep  black  colour,  with  legs  like  a  crane  ; 

'its  beak  is  strongly   hooked,  and  its   size   is  about  that  of  the 

'  landrail.     This  is  a  description  of  the  black  ibis  which  contends 

'  with  the  serpents.     The  commoner  sort,  for  there  are  two  quite 

'  distinct   species,  has   the   head    and    the    whole   throat  bare   of 

'  feathers  ;  its  general  plumage  is  white,  but  the  head  and  neck 

'  are  jet  black,  as  also  are  the  tips  of  the  wings  and  the  extremity 

'  of  the  tail ;  in  its  beak  and  legs  it  resembles  the  other  species. 

1  See  /Elian,  Be  Nat.  Annual.,  x.  29;  Horapollo,  i.  10,  36;  Herodotus  ii., 
p.  75 ;  Diodorus,  i.  83  ;  Plutarch,  Be  Iside,  §  75  ;  etc. 


376  TORTOISE,    SERPENT 

•'  The  winged  serpent  is  shaped  like  the  water-snake.  Its  wings 
•'  are  not  feathered,  but  resemble  very  closely  those  of  the  bat."  l 

Among  the  reptiles  which  were  deified  by  the  Egyptians, 
or  were  regarded  as  sacred  creatures,  may  be  mentioned  the 
folio  win  or : — 1.  The  Tortoise  or  Turtle,  which  probably  came 
from  Nubia,  and  was  worshipped  or  revered  through  fear.  The 
Tortoise-god  Apesh,  C)  c|£§>,  was  associated  with  the  powers  of 
darkness,  and  night,  and  evil,  and  a  place  was  assigned  to  him  in 
the  heavens  with  their  representatives.  In  the  clxist  Chapter  of 
the  Book  of  the  Dead  mention  is  made  of  the  Tortoise,  or  Turtle, 
in  such  a  way, as  to  suggest  that  he  was  an  enemy  of  Ra,  and  the 
formula  "  Ra  liveth,  the  Tortoise  dieth,"  is  given  four  times,  once 
in  connexion  with  each  of  the  four  winds  of  heaven.  The  tortoise 
Sheta,  °a'^^^j  is  also  mentioned  in  the  lxxxiiird  Chapter, 
wherein  the  deceased  is  made  to  declare  that  he  has  germinated 
like  the  things  which  germinate,  and  has  clothed  himself  like 
the  tortoise. 

2.  Of  the  Serpent  and  Snake  many  varieties  were  worshipped 
by  the  Egyptians  for  the  sake  of  the  good  qualities  which 
they  possessed,  and  many  were  revered  through  fear  only.  In 
predynastic  times  Egypt  was  overrun  with  serpents  and  snakes 
of  all  kinds,  and  the  Pyramid  Texts  prove  that  her  inhabitants 
were  terribly  afraid  of  them  ;  the  formulae  which  are  found  in  the 
pyramid  of  Unas  against  snakes  are  probably  older  than  dynastic 
times,  and  their  large  numbers  suggest  that  the  serpent  tribes  were 
man's  chief  enemies.  The  cult  of  the  uraeus,  or  asp,  is  extremely 
ancient,  and  its  centre  was  the  city  of  Per-Uatchet,  or  Buto,  where 
a  temple  was   built  in    honour   of    the    Uraeus-goddess    Uatchet, 

|J  U  (J      14^,  in  early  dynastic  times.     This  city  enjoyed  with  that 

of  Nekhebet  a  position  of  peculiar  importance  among  the 
Egyptians,  and  one  of  the  oldest  royal  titles  is  "  Lord  of  Nekhebet, 
lord  of  Uatchet,"  i.e.,  lord  of  the  Vulture-city,  lord  of  the  Uraeus- 
city.  The  cities  of  Nekhebet  and  Uatchet  were  in  fact  the 
ecclesiastical  centres  of  the  Southern  and  Northern  kingdoms  of 

1  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  12-i,  125. 


% 


The    Goddess    SERQET. 


SCORPION  377 

Egypt,  and  they  were  first  founded  in  primitive  times  when  the 
vulture  and  the  uraeus  were  especially  worshipped.  The  great 
enemy  of  Horus,  and  Ra,  and  Osiris,  and  also  of  the  deceased  in 
the  Underworld  was  the  monster  serpent  Apep,  or  Apophis,  which 
directed  the  attacks  on  gods  and  men  of  numbers  of  serpent  broods, 
and  which  was  held  to  be  the  personification  of  all  evil ;  on  the 
other  hand  the  uraeus  was  the  symbol  of  divinity  and  royalty,  for 
the  walls  of  the  abode  of  Osiris  were  surmounted  by  "living  uraei," 
and  the  god  Ra  wore  two  uraei  upon  his  forehead,  and  every  king 
is  represented  with  a  uraeus  upon  his  forehead.  In  primitive  times, 
when  man  coveted  the  powers  of  various  birds  and  reptiles,  and 
when  he  appears  to  have  wished  to  be  able  to  assume  their  forms 
after  death,  the  priests  provided  a  number  of  formulae  which  would 
enable  him  to  do  this,  and  among  them  was  one  which  gave  the 

deceased  the  power  of  becoming  the  serpent  Sata,   1^     "    ,  and 

which  read,  "  I  am  the  serpent  Sata  whose  years  are  many.  I  die 
"  and  I  am  born  again  each  day.  I  am  the  serpent  Sata  which 
"  dwelleth  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  I  die  and  I  am 
"  born  again,  and  I  renew  myself,  and  I  grow  young  each  day."  l 
In  religious  texts  the  uraeus  is  associated  with  Isis  and  Nephthys, 
but  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  comparatively  late  times  these 
goddesses  were  identified  with  Uatchet,  the  uraeus-goddess,  who 
was  at  one  time  or  another  absorbed  into  all  the  great  goddesses, 
many  of  whom  were  regarded  as  benevolent  and  beneficent  deities 
and  the  protectors  of  a  man's  house,  and  land  and  crops,  and 
children. 

3.  The  Scorpion  was  venerated  in  Egypt  at  a  very  early 
period,  and  the  scorpion-goddess  Serqet  or  Selqet  was  in  some 
of  her  aspects  associated  with  the  powers  of  evil,  and  in  others 
with  the  goddess  Isis.  In  the  xxxiind  Chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the 
Dead  she  appears  as  a  friend  of  the  deceased,  and  in  the  xliind 
Chapter  his  teeth  are  identified  with  those  of  the  goddess.  From 
the  legend  of  Isis  which  is  told  on  the  Metternich  Stele  we  learn 
that  this  goddess  was  accompanied  on  her  journey  by  Seven 
Scorpions,  and  that  the  child  Horus  was  stung  by  a  scorpion  which 

1  Booh  of  the  Bead,  Chapter  Ixxxvii. 


378  APSHAIT,    BEBAIT 

made  its  way  to  him  in  spite  of  all  the  precautions  which  the 
goddess  had  taken.  According  to  iElian  (x.  19),  the  scorpions  of 
Coptos  were  of  a  most  formidable  character,  and  whosoever  was 
bitten  by  one  of  them  died  of  a  certainty;  in  spite  of  this,  however, 
they  respected  Isis  so  much  that  they  never  stung  the  women 
who  went  to  the  temple  of  the  goddess  to  pray,  even  though  they 
walked  with  their  feet  bare  or  prostrated  themselves  on  the 
ground.  This  statement  is  useful  as  showing  that  the  scorpion 
was  sacred  to  Isis. 

4.  The  xxxvith  Chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  mentions 
a  kind  of  beetle  called  Apshait,     n    ToTqT  'yx   (](]  ^>    which  was 


supposed  to  gnaw  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  In  one  vignette  of  the 
Chapter  the  deceased  is  seen  threatening  it  with  a  knife,  and  in 
the  other  the  creature  is  represented  in  the  form  of  an  ordinary 
scarabaeus  which  is  being  speared  by  him.  The  Apshait  is 
probably  the  beetle  which  is  often  found  crushed  between  the 
bandages  of  poorly  made  mummies,  or  even  inside  the  body  itself, 
where  it  has  forced  its  way  in  search  of  food. 

5.  In  the  lxxvi  th  and  civth  Chapters  of  the  Book  of  the  Bead  an 
insect  called  Abit,  ^  J  (]()  -  "^ ,  or  Bebait,  J  J  %^  \\  -  »&, 
is  mentioned  which  is  said  to  lead  the  deceased  into  the  "  House  of 
the  King,"  and  to  bring  him  "to  see  the  great  gods  who  are  in 
the  Underworld  " ;  this  creature  is  probably  to  be  identified  with 
the  praying  Mantis  (mantis  religiosa)  about  which  so  many  legends 
are  current. 

6.  The  Frog  appears  to  have  been  worshipped  in  primitive 
times  as  the  symbol  of  generation,  birth,  and  fertility  in  general ; 

the  Frog-goddess  Heqet,  |  JN,  or  Heqtit,  |  flfl^Jj?  was 
identified  with  Hathor,  and  was  originally  the  female  counterpart 
of  Khnemu,  by  whom  she  became  the  mother  of  Heru-ur.  The 
great  antiquity  of  the  cult  of  the  frog  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
each  of  the  four  primeval  gods  Heh,  Kek,  Nau,  and  Amen  is 
depicted  with  the  head  of  a  frog,  while  his  female  counterpart  has 
the  head  of  a  serpent.  The  cult  of  the  frog  is  one  of  the  oldest  in 
Egypt,  and  the  Frog-god  and  the  Frog-goddess  were  believed  to 
have  played  very  prominent  parts  in  the  creation  of  the  world. 


GRASSHOPPER,    BEETLE  379 

According  to  Horapollo  (i.  25),  the  frog  typified  an  imperfectly 
formed  man,  j4.7rXo.aTou  Se  dvOpcunov  ypd(f)OVT€<$  fidrpayov  ^ojypcufxiv- 
<Tiv,  because  it  was  generated  from  the  slime  of  the  river,  whence 
it  occasionally  happens  that  it  is  seen  with  one  part  of  a  frog,  and 
the  remainder  formed  of  slime,  so  that  should  the  river  fall,  the 
animal  would  be  left  imperfect ;  the  half-formed  creatures  referred 
to  by  Diodorus  (i.  10)  seem  to  have  been  frogs.  JElian  also 
declares  (ii.  5G)  that  in  a  shower  which  once  fell  upon  him  there 
were  half- formed  frogs,  and  that  whilst  their  fore  parts  were 
provided  with  two  feet  their  hind  parts  were  shapeless  ! 

7.  With  the  Grasshopper  ideas  of  religious  enjoyment  seem 
to  have  been  associated,  for  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Chap,  cxxv.) 
the  deceased  says,  "  I  have  rested  in  the  Field  of  the  Grasshoppers  " 

(MA  ^  ^*=  ^  vv  y^)  Sekhet-Saxehemu),  wherein  was 
situated  the  "  northern  city  ;  "  it  lay  to  the  south  of  Sekhet-hetep. 
The  grasshopper  is  mentioned  as  early  as  the  VTth  Dynasty,  and 
in  the  text  of  Pepi  II.  (line  860)  the  king  is  said  to  "  arrive  in 

heaven  like  the  grasshopper  of  Ra,"    □  |  j\  ^^  (a '111  v°Ju] 

8.  Chief  among  insects  in  importance  was  the  Beetle,  or 
Scarabaeus,    which    was    called    by    the    Egyptians     kheprerd, 

{trf  h^£'  anc^  was  ^ie  svmD°l  °f  Khepera,  0<cr>n,jj,  the 

great  god  of  creation  and  resurrection.  The  Beetle-god  is  repre- 
sented at  times  with  a  beetle  upon  his  head,  and  at  others  with  a 
beetle  for  a  head  ;  as  Khepera' s  attributes  have  already  been  fully 
described  we  need  only  repeat  here  that  he  was  the  "  father  of  the 
gods,"  and  the  creator  of  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  that  he 
was  self-besrotten  and  self-born,  and  that  he  was  identified  with  the 
rising  sun,  and  new  birth  generally.  The  beetle  or  scarabaeus 
which  was  modelled  by  the  Egyptians  in  such  large  numbers 
belongs  to  the  family  called  Scarahaeidae  (Coprophagi),  of  which 
the  Scarabaeus  saner  is  the  type.  These  insects  compose  a  very 
numerous  group  of  dung-feeding  Lamellicorns,  of  which,  however, 
the  majority  are  inhabitants  of  tropical  countries.  A  remarkable 
peculiarity  exists  in  the  structure  and  situation  of  the  hind  legs, 


380  BEETLE 

which  are  placed  so  near  the  extremity  of  the  body,  and  so  far 
from  each  other  as  to  give  the  insect  a  most  extraordinary 
appearance  when  walking. 

This  peculiar  formation  is,  nevertheless,  particularly  serviceable 
to  its  possessors  in  rolling  the  balls  of  excrementitious  matter  in 
which  they  enclose  their  eggs ;  wherefore  these  insects  were 
named  by  the  first  naturalists  Pilulariae.  These  balls  are  at  first 
irregular  and  soft,  but,  by  degrees,  and  during  the  process  of 
rolling  along,  become  rounded  and  harder ;  they  are  propelled  by 
means  of  the  hind  legs.  Sometimes  these  balls  are  an  inch  and  a 
half,  or  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  in  rolling  them  along  the 
beetles  stand  almost  upon  their  heads,  with  the  heads  turned  from 
the  balls.  These  manoeuvres  have  for  their  object  the  burying  of 
the  balls  in  holes,  which  the  insects  have  previously  dug  for  their 
reception ;  and  it  is  upon  the  dung  thus  deposited  that  the  larvae 
feed.  It  does  not  appear  that  these  beetles  have  the  instinct  to 
distinguish  their  own  balls,  as  they  will  seize  upon  those  belonging 
to  another,  in  case  they  have  lost  their  own  ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  said 
that  several  of  them  occasionally  assist  in  rolling  the  same  ball. 
The  males  as  well  as  the  females  assist  in  rolling  the  pellets.  They 
fly  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day.1  From  the  above  extract  it 
is  clear  that  the  scarabaeus  is  in  the  habit  of  laying  its  eggs  in  dung, 
which  is  to  serve  as  food  for  its  larvae,  and  that  the  larvae  are 
hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun's  rays.  The  ball  of  matter  contain- 
ing potential  life  was  compared  to  the  sun's  globe,  which  contained 
the  germs  of  all  life,  and  the  beetle,  with  its  ball  of  matter  and 
eggs,  was  regarded  as  the  symbol  of  the  great  god  Khepera  who 
rolled  the  globe  of  the  sun  across  the  sky.  Now,  the  god  Khepera 
also  represented  inert  but  living  matter,  which  was  about  to  begin 
a  course  of  existence  for  the  first  time,  or  to  enjoy  a  renewal  of 
life,  and  he  was  thus  not  only  the  creator  of  life  but  also  the 
restorer  or  renewer  of  life,  and  so  at  a  very  early  period  became 
associated  by  the  Egyptians,  first  with  the  idea  of  the  new  birth 
of  the  sun  daily,  and  secondly,  with  the  resurrection  of  man.  And 
since  the  scarabaeus  was  identified  with  him  that  insect  became  at 

1  J.   0.  Westwood,   An  Introduction   to   the   Modern   Classification  of  Insects, 
London,  1839,  vol.  i.,  p.  204  ff. 


BEETLE  381 

once  the  symbol  of  the  god  and  of  the  Resurrection.  Now  the  dead 
human  body,  from  one  aspect,  contained  the  germ  of  life,  that  is 
to  say,  the  germ  of  the  spiritual  body,  which  was  called  into  being 
by  means  of  the  prayers  that  were  recited  and  the  ceremonies  that 
were  performed  on  the  day  of  the  funeral ;  from  this  point  of  view 
the  egg-ball  of  the  scarabaeus  and  the  dead  body  were  identical. 
Moreover,  as  the  scarabaeus  had  given  potential  life  to  its  eggs  in 
the  ball,  so,  it  was  thought,  would  a  model  of  the  scarab,  itself  the 
symbol  of  the  god  of  new  life  and  resurrection,  also  give  potential 
life  to  the  dead  body  upon  which  it  was  placed,  and  keep  life  in 
the  living  body,  always  provided  that  the  proper  words  of  power 
were  first  said  over  it  or  written  upon  it.  The  idea  of  "  life  " 
appears  to  have  been  associated  with  the  scarab  from  time 
immemorial  in  Egypt  and  the  Eastern  Sudan,  for  to  this  day  the 
insect  is  dried,  pounded,  and  mixed  with  water,  and  then  drunk 
by  women,  who  believe  it  to  be  an  unfailing  specific  for  the 
production  of  large  families. 

That  the  scarab  was  associated  with  the  sun  is  clear  from 
a  passage  in  the  text  of  Unas  (line  477),  where  it  is  said,  "This 
"  Unas  flieth  like  a  bird,  and  alighteth  like  a  beetle  ;  he  flieth  like 
"  a  bird  and  he  alighteth  like  a  beetle  upon  the  throne  which  is 

"  empty  in  thy  boat,  0  Ra,"  Q  %?  (^HJlfl     D     ^ 

I  D/j*i  n    n 


klSPfc 


=^  O .      In   the   text   of  Teta 

and  Pepi  I.  is  declared  to  be  "  the  son  of  the  scarab  which  is  born 
"  in  Hetepet  under  the  hair  of  Iusaas  the  Northern,  and  the  issue 

"  ^  *•  brow  of  Seb,"  g  ffi  ^  ■  (ft  M  &  f5S  *  P  >!> 

-^  ^  P  °<=>  Ik  P  ®  ^  ^  ^  V  1&*  J  *  Amono  classical 
writers1  the  opinion  prevailed  that  female  scarabs  did  not  exist, 
and  Latreille  thinks  that  this  belief  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
females  are  exceedingly  like  the  males,  and  that  both  sexes  appear 

1  J31ian,  x.  15 ;  Horapollo,  i.  x. ;  Porphyry,  Be  Abstinentia,  iv.  9. 


382  BEETLE 

to  divide  the  care  of  their  offspring  equally  between  them. 
According  to  Horapollo,  a  scarabaeus  denotes  an  "  only -begotten, 
generation,  father,  world,  and  man."  It  represents  an  "only- 
begotten  "  because  the  scarabaeus  is  a  creature  self-produced,  being 
unconceived  by  a  female.  The  male,  when  desirous  of  procreating, 
takes  some  ox-dung,  and  shapes  it  into  a  spherical  form  like  the 
world.  He  next  rolls  it  from  east  to  west,  looking  himself  towards 
the  east.  Having  dug  a  hole,  he  buries  it  in  it  for  twenty-eight 
days ;  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  he  opens  the  ball,  and  throws  it 
into  the  water,  and  from  it  the  scarabaei  come  forth.  The  idea 
of  "  generation "  arises  from  its  supposed  acts.  The  scarabaeus 
denotes  a  "father"  because  it  is  engendered  by  a  father  only,  and 
"  world "  because  in  its  generation  it  is  fashioned  in  the  form  of 
the  world,  and  "  man  "  because  there  is  no  female  race  among 
them.  Every  scarabaeus  was  also  supposed  to  have  thirty  toes, 
corresponding  with  the  thirty  clays'  duration  of  the  month.  For 
accounts  of  the  use  of  scarabs  as  amulets  the  reader  is  referred  to 
other  works.1 

Concerning  the  cult  of  Fish  among  the  Egyptians  but  little 
can  be  said,  because  the  hieroglyphic  texts  afford  us  little  informa- 
tion on  the  subject.  According  to  Strabo  (xvii.  2,  4),  there  were 
"  in  the  Nile  fish  in  great  quantity  and  of  different  kinds,  having 
"  a  peculiar  and  indigenous  character.  The  best  known  are  the 
"  Oxyrhynchus,  and  the  Lepidotus,  the  Latus,  the  Alabes,  the 
"  Coracinus,  the  Choerus,  and  the  Phagrorius,  called  also  the 
"  Phagrus.  Besides  these  are  the  Silurus,  the  Citharus,  the 
"  Thrissa,  the  Cestreus,  the  Lychnus,  the  Physa,  the  Bous,  or  ox, 
"  and  large  shell-fish  which  emit  a  sound  like  that  of  wailing." 
Among  these  were  chiefly  worshipped  the  Oxyrhynchus,  the 
Phagrus,  the  Latus,  and  the  Lepidotus.  The  chief  seat  of  the  cult 
of  the  Oxyrhynchus  Fish  was  the  city  of  Oxyrhynchus,  where  it 
was  held  in  the  greatest  reverence  ;  this  fish  was  supposed  to  have 
swallowed  the  phallus  of  Osiris 2  when  Set  was  hacking  the  body  of 
this  god  in  pieces,  and  for  this  reason  was  sacred  not  only  in  the 
nome  of  the  Oxyrhynchites  and  its  metropolis,  but  all  over  Egypt. 

1  See  my  Mummy,  p.  233  ff.  ;  Magic,  p.  35  ff.  -  Plutarch,  Be  Iside,  §  18. 


FISHES  383 

In  certain  places  the  Egyptians  would  not  eat  it.  The  Phagrus, 
or  eel,  was  worshipped  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  mummied  eels  have 
been  found  in  small,  sepulchral  boxes.  Of  the  Lepidotus  Fish  no 
legends  have  been  preserved  ;  the  Latus  was  worshipped  at  Esneh. 
The  fish  with  the  very  wide  and  large  mouth  which  is  seen  on  the 
head  of  the  goddess  Hatmehit,  -=^  °<==^  8  flfl  ^  J) ,  has  not  yet  been 
identified.  In  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  two  mythological  fish  are 
mentioned,  the  Abtu,  ¥  J  ££  v\<e=<,  and  the  Ant,  (j/wwvv<o<; 
these  fish  were  supposed  to  swim,  one  on  each  side  of  the  bows  of  the 
boat  of  the  Sun-god,  and  to  drive  away  from  it  every  evil  being  or 
thing  in  the  waters  which  had  a  mind  to  attack  it.  The  identifica- 
tion of  Nile  fish  is  at  present  a  difficult  matter,  but  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  when  the  Egyptian  Government  issues  the  monograph 
on  the  fish  of  Egypt  and  the  Delta,  and  of  Nubia  and  the  Sudan 
it  may  be  possible  to  name  correctly  the  various  bronze  and 
wooden  fish  which  exist  in  the  many  collections  of  Egyptian 
antiquities  in  Egypt  and  Europe. 


INDEX 


A  =  Thoth,  i.  402 
Aa-ab,  ii.  127 
Aaai,  i.  342 
Aaai,  ii.  320 
Aa-am-khekh,  ii.  302 
Aaan.  ii.  268 
Aaapef,  ii.  245 
Aah,  ii.  323 
Aahet.  ii.  323 
Aahmes  II.,  i.  458 
Aah-Tehuti,  i.  41-2,  413 
Aai,  i.  345  ;  ii.  317 
Aai,   ass-headed  man,   i. 

196 
Aai  gods,  i.  196 
Aaiu-f-em-kha-nef,  i.  254 
Aakebi,  i.  240,  342 
Aakebi,  ii.  317 
Aakhabit,  ii.  323 
Aakhbu,  i.  259 
Aa-kheperu-mes-aru,     i. 

246 
Aa-kheru,     i.     177  ;     ii. 

326 
Aaniu,  i.  188,  304 
A  an.  ii.  2 'J  2 
Anna,  i.  211 
Aana-tuati,  ii.  320 
Aapef,  ii.  326 
Aarjetct.  i.  494 
Aaqetqet,  ii.  323 
Aar.  ii.  63 
A.a rat  her  ab  neter  het, 

ii.  185 
II — c   c 


Aarer,  i.  455 

Aaru,  ii.   120 ;    Lake  of, 

i.  2t)7 
Aa-sekhemu,  i.  178 
Aa-shefit,  i.  Ill  ;  ii.  58 
Aa-sheft,  ii.  300 
Aasith,  ii.  280 
Aatiu,  ii.  317 
Aat  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Aatof  Seb,  ii.  95 
Aat  of  Tefnut,  ii.  93 
Aats  of  Osiris,  the  Fifteen, 

i.  177 
Aat-aat,  i.  492 
Aat-aatet,  i.  214 
Aa-ta  (nonie),  i.  97 
Aat-ab,  i.  473,  V. '2 
Aa-tcba-Mutet,  i.  401 
Aat-en-sliet,  ii.  60 
Aat-hehu,  i.  472 
Aati,  i.  419;  ii.  327 
Aati,  ii.  157 
Aat-khu,  i.  178 
Aat-klm.  i.  2H 
Aat  of  Ra,  i.  471 
Aat-setekau,  i.  241 
Aat-sbatet,  i.  481 
Aat-shefsbeft,  i.  194 
Aat-tchamutet,  i.  421 
Aat-Tchetemit,  i.  484 
Aat-Tefnut,  i.  517 
Aatu,  i.  341 
A  an.  i.  186 
Ab,  i.  211 


Abata,  ii.  326 
Abaton,  ii.  213 
Ab-em-tu-f,  ii.  301 
Abesh,  i.  198 
Abet-neterus,  i.  248 
Abit,  ii.  ::!7s 
Abrabam,  i.  277 
Ab  sceptre,  i.  162  ;  ii.  8 
Ab-sha-am-Tuat,  i.  236 
Abshek,  i.  429 
Ab-siu,  ii.  316 
Abt  (nonie),  i.  97 
Abt,  ii.  261 
Ab-ta,  i.  194 
Abtiti,  temple  of,  i.  405 
Abt-tesi-rut-en-neter,  ii. 

326 
Abtu    (Abydos),    i,    97, 

410,  492 
Abtu   Fish,  i.   324;    ii. 

209,  383 
Ab-tut  (Abydos),  i.  97 
Abu,  i.  96,  365,  463 ;  ii. 

49,  51,  56 
Abu  Simbel,  ii.  22 
Abu-ur,  ii.  323 
Abydos,  i/97, 103, 104, 

101 ;  ii.  118,  14s 
Abydos,  the  goal  of  souls, 

i.  175 
Abyssinia,  ii.  108 
Adam,  i.  6 
A  don,  ii.  7  1 
Aeeiouo,  i.  280 


386 


INDEX 


Aelian,  ii.  346,  352,  369, 

370,  372,  379,  381 
JElian,     ii.     358,    360; 

quoted,!  63,  356,  402; 

ii.  93 
Af,  the  dead  Sun-God,  i. 

206,257,505;  his  new 

birth,  i.  260 
Af,  i.  274 
Afa  beings,  i.  160 
Af-Asar,  i.  234 
Afau,  i.  211 
Affi,  i.  241 
Af-Ea,  i.  226 
Af-Tem,  i.  234 
Afu  gods,  i.  83,  84 
Afu  on   his  staircase,   i. 

211 
Afu,  the  dead  Kkepera, 

i.  226 
Ah  (Aah),  ii.  325 
Aha,  i.  31,  453  ;  plaque 

of,  i.  24 
Aha-aaui,  ii.  326 
Aha-an-urt-nef,  ii.  327 
Aha-en-urt-nef,  i.  238 
Aha-netern,  i.  220 
Ahabit,  ii.  302 
Ahat,  i.  248 
Aliat,  ii.  19 
Ahau-hrau,  ii.  326 
Ahet,  i.  161 
Aheti,  ii.  325 
Ahi,  i.    228,   469,    495; 

ii.  322,  325 
Ahibit,  ii.  325 
Ahi-mu  (?),  i.  419 
Ahit,  ii.  184 
Ahiu,  ii.  325 
Ahu,  i.  79 
Ai,  i.  196 
Ai  (king),  ii.  84 
•'Ain  Shems,  ii.  108 
Aion,  i.  285 
Air,  i.  288 


Akau,  ii.  325 
Akebiu,  i.  201 
Akeneh,  i.  23 
Akent,  i.  433 
Aken-tau-k-ha-kheru,  i, 

176  ;  ii.  325 
Akenti,  i.  177 
Akenu,  i.  433  ;  ii.  325 
Aker,  i.  33,  45,  79,  325  ; 

ii.  34 
Aker,  Lion-god,   ii.  360, 

361 
Akert,  i.   194,  246;    ii. 

153,  154,  302 
Akertet,  ii.  20 
Akert  -  khent  -  ast  -  s,  ii, 

325 
Akeru,  ii.  323,  360 
Akeru  gods,  ii.  98 
Akerui,  ii.  360 
Akesi,  i.  178 
Aket  of  Set,  i.  411 
Akhan-niaati,  i.  191 
Akhekh,  ii.  247 
Akhekh,  ii.  270 
Akkekhi,  i.  203 
Akkekhu,  ii.  327 
xikhem-hemi-f,  i.  242 
Akhem  -  khemes  -  f,      i. 

242 
Akhem-sek-f,  i.  242 
Akhemu-Betesli,  ii.  120 
Akhem-urt-f,  i.  242 
Akhemu-Seku,    i.    198; 

ii.  120,  250 
Akhenm-Sesh-  email,  ii, 
_120 

Akhen-maati-f,  ii.  327 
Akhet-nen-tha,  i.  79 
Akhmim,  ii.  188 
Akhmiu,  i.  196 
Akhpa,  i.  344 
Akhrokhar,  i.  266 
Akhsesef,  ii.  325 
Akizzi,  ii.  23 


Alabastronpolis,    i.     98, 

102,  432 
Alabes  fish,  ii.  382 
Al-A'raf,  i.  171 
Al-Basra,  i.  6 
Ale,  i.*178 
Aleppo,  ii.  283 
Alexander  the   Great,   i. 
293,   489  ;  his   son,  i. 
293 
Alexandria,    i.    332 ;    ii, 
_  197 

Alkat,  i.  433 
Al-Kharga,  ii,  22 
Allah,  i.  141 
Al-lul,  ii.  316 
Am,  i.  326 
Am,  ii.  312 
Ama,  i.  250 
Ama,  i.  346 
Ama-Amta,  i.  346 
Am-aau,  ii.  246,  326 
Ainait,  ii.  283 
Amam,  i.  326 
Amain,  ii.  326 
Amam-maat,  ii.  326 
Amam-mitu,  i.  211 
Amam-ta,  ii.  320 
Amanei  -  tou  -  ouranou,  i. 

280 
Am-xinnu,  i.  90 
Am-Antchet,  i.  90 
Am-ara-q^ih-f,  i.  182 
Ama-ta,  i.  346 
Am-beseku,    i.   419 ;    ii. 

324 
Amelineau,    i.    269 ;    ii. 

374 
Amemet,  ii.  144,  326 
Amemt,  i.  443 
Amen,  i.,  23,  79,  88;  ii. 

1-16,  324 
Amen,  a  serpent,  i,  218 
Amen,   city   of,    i.    366 ; 

ii.  12 


INDEX 


387 


Amen,  derivations  of  the 

name,  ii.  2 
Amen-ha,  ii.  320 
Amen-hau,  i.  342 
Amen  -  heri  -  ab,    i.    401 ; 

ii.  57 
Ainen-Heru-pa-kkart,  ii. 

252 
Amen-hetep,  ii.  30 
Amen-hetep  III.,  i.  329  ; 

ii.  23,  68,  69,  70,  279, 

362 ;       presented       to 

Amen-Ra,  ii.  4 
Amen-hetep  IV.,  i.  104; 

ii.  23,  68,  70,  71-84 
Amen-hetep,  son  of  Hapu, 

i.  525 
Ameni,  ii.  317 
Ameni,  name  of  Ra,  i.  345 
Amen-khat,  i.  198,  343  ; 

ii.  317 
Arnen-kheperutet,  i.  499 
Amen-na-an-ka-entek  - 

share,  ii.  324 
Amen-nain-an-ka-entek- 

share,  ii.  20 
Amen-Nathekerethi- 

Amen,  ii.  20 
A  m  e  n  -  n  a  t  h  e  k  -  r  e  t  h  i  - 

Amen,  ii.  324 
Amen  of  Sapi-res,  i.  99 
Amen  [paid  of  Thoth),  i. 

113 
Amen,  quarrel  of  priests 

of,    with    Amen-hetep 

IV.,  ii.  74-84 
Amen  the  Elder,  i.  468 
Amen-Ra,  i.  97,  172;  ii. 

324 
Amen-Ra,      brotherhood 

of,  i.  175 
Amen-Ea,    company    of, 

ii.  2 
Amen-Ra- Heru-khuti,  ii. 

324 


Amen-Ra,  Hymn  to,  ii. 
5 

Amen-Ea,  incarnation  of, 
i.  330  j  spread  of  his 
cult,  ii.  22 

Amen-Ra  of  Sma-Behu- 
tet,  i.  100 

Amen-Ra  of  Xoi's,  i.  99 

Amen  -  Ra-  Horns  -  Osiris, 

ii.  21 

Amen-Ea  -  Mut  - Khensu, 

i.  114 
Amen-Ea-Tem,  ii.  16,  17 
Amen  -Ra-Temu-Khe- 

pera- Heru-khuti,      i. 

447 
Anient,  ii.  317 
Ament,  i.  79 ;  Circle  of, 

i.  220;    Circles  of,   i. 

340 
Ament,     counterpart     of 

Amen,  i.  287;  ii.  1.  2 
Ament  (goddess),  ii.  29, 

30,  55 
Ament  (Isis),  ii.  213,  216 
Ament  (nome),  i.  99 
Ament  of  Apt,  i.  465 
Ament   (pant  of  Thoth), 

i.  113 
Ament-nefert,  i.  210 
Ament-Ra,  i.  465 
Ament-semu-set,  i.  226 
Ameut-sthau,  i.  216 
Amentet,  i.  172,  263 ;  ii. 

154 
Amentet,     i.e.,     Under- 
world, ii.  201 
Amentet,  Bull  of,  ii.  15s  : 

Mountain  of,  ii.   153; 

souls  of,  i.  196 
Amentet-nefert,  i.  178 
Amenthes,  ii.  201 
Amenthet    (goddess),    i. 

431 
Amen-ur,  i.  468 


Amesu  sceptre,  ii.  8 
Amet-tcheru,  i.  211 
Am  -  hauatu  -  eut  -  pehui-f, 

ii.  324 
Am-heh,  ii.  326 
Am-hent-f,  i.  441 
Am-henth-f,  i.  79 
Am-Hetch-pafir,  i.  90 
Ani-Het-Serqet-Ra-hete- 

pet,  i.  90 
Am-Het-ur-Ra,  i.  90 
Am-huat-ent-peh-tf,    i. 

176 
Ami-hemf,  i.  25 

Amit,  goddess,  i.  366 
Am-kehuu,  i.  38,  49 

Am-khaibetu,  i.  419 

Am-khent  (nome),  i.  100 , 
444 

Amkhiu  nu  Asar,  ii.  185 

Am-khu,  i.  228 

Ammehet,i.  178, 190, 216 

Ammet,  i.  432 

Ammianus     Marcellinus, 
ii.  349,  352,  357 

Ammi-seshet,  i.  519 

Arn-mit,  i.    60,  218  ;  ii. 
362 

Ammiu  gods,  ii.  100 

Ammi-uaui-f,  i.  200 

Am-Neter-het,  i.  90 

Am-net-f,  i.  200 

Am-Nit,  i.  179 

Am-Pehu  (nome),  i.  100 

Am-Sah,  i.  90 

Am-senf,  i.  419 
Am-sepa-f,  i.  79,  441 
Amset,  i.  79,  491,  492 
Amset  =  South,  i.  158 
Amseth,  i.  456  ;  ii.  184, 

324 
Amseti-Aah,  i.  470 

Am-snef,  ii.  324 
Amsu,   i.    79,    97,    496, 
507 ;  ii.  20 


388 


INDEX 


Arnsu  (nome),  i.  97 
Arnsu,  god  of  Panopolis, 

i.  97;   ii.  258,   280, 

291,  293,  324 
Amsu-Amen,  ii.  8 
Amsu-Heru,  ii.  324 
Anisu-Heru-ka-nekht,  ii. 

139 
Amsu-Ra,  ii.  36 
Anisu  suten  Heru-nekht, 

ii.  183 
Anita  i.  343 
Am-ta,  i.  346 
Aui-Tep,  i.  90 
Am-tet,  ii.  129 
Amu,  i.  250 
Amu-aa,  i.  211 
Amulets  in  the  Sudan,  i. 

16 
Am-Unnu-Meht,  i   90 
Am-Unnu-Resu,  i.  90 
Am  ut  (Anubis),  ii.  263 
An,  ii.  324 
An,  a  form  of  Osiris,  i. 

446 
An,  a  god,  ii.  20 
An,  city  of,  i.  427 
An  (city),  ii.  31,  32 
An  in  Antes,  ii.  154 
An,  of  millions  of  years, 

ii.  154 

An,  the  warrior,  ii.  312 
Ana,  i.  79  ;  i.  456 
An-aarere-tef,  i.  495 
An-a-f,  i.  145,  419,  521 ; 

ii.  324 
An-aret-f,  i.  495 
An-atef-f,  ii.  324 
Anau  gods,  i.  202 
Andrew,  St.,  i.  280 
Andrews,  Dr.   C.  W.,   i. 

11 
Aneb,  i.  514 
Aneb-abt,  i.  514 
Aneb-athi,  i.  514 


Aneb-hetch  (nome),  i.  99, 

512 
Aneb-rest-f,  i.  514 
Anebu,  i.  513 
Anemph,  i.  281 
Aneniu,  ii.  324 
Anep,  i.  437 
An-erta-nef-bes-f-khenti- 

heh'-f,  i.  494 ;  ii.  324 
An-erta-nef-nebat,  ii.  294 
Auetch,  ii.  176 
An-f-em-hru-seksek,  ii, 

129 
Angel  of  the  two  gods,  i. 

83 
Angel  of  Death,  i.  19 
Angel  of  the  Lord,  i.  19 
Angels,  i.  6 
Angels,    functions    of  in 

Kur'an,  i.  5 
Angels,  mortal    and    im- 
mortal, i.  6 
Angels  of  service,  i.  21 
Angels  of  Thoth,  ii.  119 
Anhai,  Papyrus  of,  i.  507 
An-hat,  i.  482 
An-hefta,  i.  194 
An-her,  i.  172, 173,  402  ; 

ii.  184,  325,  359 
An-heri-ertit-sa,  ii.  324 
An-hetep-f,  ii.  325 
An-Her,  i.  97,  103,  115; 

ii.  118,  291 
An-her  of  Sebennytus,  i. 

100 
Anhetep,  i.  222 
An-hetep-f,  i.  419 
An-hra,  i.  176 ;  ii.  325 
Anhur,  i.  103 
Animals,  sacred,  ii.  345  ft. 
Ani,  Papyrus  of,  i.  335, 

360,  427 
Ani  (scribe),  ii.  69 
Ani,  the  scribe,  ii.  141- 

146 


Ani  (city),  i.  439 
Ani  (Esneh),  i.  452 
Ani,  form  of  Sun-god,  ii, 

9,  10,  11 
Animals,      reason      why 

adored,  i.  22 
Animals,    the    abodes   of 

gods,  i.  2 
Anit,  i.  427,  431,  469; 

ii.  61,  65 
Ankh,  i.  79 
Ankh-aapau,  i.  222 
Ankh-aru-tchefau,  i.  234 
Ankh-em-fentu,    i.   176  ; 

ii.  327 
Ankhet  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Ankhet  -  pu  -  ent-  Sebek  - 

neb-Bakhau,  ii.  327 
Ankhet,  scorpion  goddess, 

i.  220 
Ankhet-kheperu,  i.  216 
Ankh-f-en-Khensu,  i.  460 
Ankh-hra,  i.  228 
Ankhi,  ii.  326 
Ankhi  (serpent),  i.  200 
Ankhiu,  i.  161 
Ankh  =  Osiris,  ii.  139 
Ankh-s-en-Aten,  ii,  83 
Ankh-  s  -en-  pa-  A  ten,  ii. 

83 
Ankh-ta,  i.  246 
Ankh-taui,  i.  513 
Ankh-tauit,  i.  433 
Ankhti,  ii.  326 
Ankhtith,  i.  234 
Anku,  i.  234 
An-mut-f,  i.  79 ;  ii.  183, 

301,  322,  324 
Annu,  i.  100,  354,  471 ; 

ii.  4,  148 
Annu,  crops  of,  ii.  121 
Annu  Meht,  i.  328 
Annu,  North,  ii.  25 
Annu,  paut  of  gods  of,  i. 
88 


INDEX 


389 


Annu,  priests  of,  i,  78 
Annu-Rest,  ii.  24 
Annu  Resu,  i.  328 
Annu,  Souls  of,  i.  109 
Annu,  South,  ii.  25 
Annu,  Two  Companies  of 

gods  of,  i.  91 
Annut  hat,  ii.  277 
Ano-Menthu,  i.  433 
An  =  Osiris,  ii.  139 
Anpet,  i.  432 
Anpet,  i.  496;  ii.  292 
Anpu,  i.  79,  210,  340  ; 

ii.  95,  261-266,  322, 

324,  367 
Anpu  (norne),  i.  98 
Anpu,  god  of  Anpu,  i.  98 
Anpu,  god  of  Het-suten, 

i.  98 
Anpu  am  Uhet,  ii.  185 
Anpu-Horus,  i.  493 
Anpu  khent  neter  seh,  ii. 

184 
Anpu  khent  neter  seh  em 

ren-f  neb,  ii.  185 
Anqet,    i.    431 ;    ii.    50, 

57  ff. 
Anqet  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Anqet  Nephthys,  ii.  57 
An-rut-f,i.  352,410,482; 

ii.  60  ;  155 
Anshar,  i.  289,  291 
Ant,  i.  161 

Ant  (city),  i.  493,  515 
Ant  (country),  i.  517 
Ant  (Dendera),  i.  472 
Ant  Fish,  i.  324;  ii.  383 
Ant  (Tsis),  ii.  213 
Antaeopolis,  i.  97 
Antaeopolis  of  Tu-f  i.  98 
Antaeopolites,  i.  96 
Antaf,  i.  23 
An-ta-f,  ii.  363 
An-tcher-f,  i.  79 
Antchet,  i.  88 


An-tebu,  ii.  325 

xin-temt,  ii.  324 

Ant-en-Nut,  ii.  103 

Antes,  ii.  154 

Antet,  i.  433 

Antetu,  i.  346 

Anthat,  i.  431,  432 ;  ii. 

277 
Antheth,  i.  228 
Antheti,  ii.  317 
Anthretha,  ii.  278 
Anti,  ii.  327 
Antit,  ii,  277 
Antiu,  i.  198 
Antuf,  i.  524 
Ajm^Avo?,  i.  289 
Anu  (the  heavens),  i.  359 
Anubis,  i.  9,    418,    425, 

454  ;  ii.  85,  129,  261- 

266, 366 
Anubis,  Path  of,  i.  513 
Anubis-Horus,  i.  493 
Anubis  =  Osiris,  ii.  139 
Anu-Ea-Bel,  i.  290 
Anunu,  i.  454 
Anuqet,  ii.  53 
Aoi,  i.  280 
Ap,  ii.  268,  292 
Apa-ankh,  i.  454 
'A-rraaSov,  i.  289 
Ape  =  Amen,  ii.  2 
Ape,  a  form  of  Thoth,  i, 

403 
Ape  and  pig,  i.  190 
Ape,  worship  of,  i.  2  ;  the 

sacred,  ii.  364 
Ape-god  in  Tuat,  i.  347 
Ape -gods,    the    four,    i. 

202 
Apep,  i.  11,61,180,2(12, 

269  ff.,  277, 324, 436, 

447,  489  ;  ii.  79,  107, 

216, 245, 326  ;  soul  of, 

i.  371 
Apepa,  ii.  251 


Apep,  Book  of  overthrow- 
ing, i.  325 
Apepi,  i.  306 
Aper-hra-neb-tchetla,    i. 

252 
Aper-pehui,  i.  516 
Aper-ta,  i.  344 
Aper-ta,  ii.  317 
Apes,  the,  i.  346,  347 
Apes  of  the  East,  i.  21 
Apes,  the  four,  i.  196 
Apes,  the  Seven,  ii.  268 
Apes,  the  singing,  i.  207 
Apesh,  ii.  376 
Apet,  ii.  29,  29,  30,  359 
Apet  (goddess),  ii.  109 
Aphoso,  ii.  305 
Aphrodite,    i.     435 ;    ii. 

187 
Aphroditopolis,  i.  97,  98, 

431,  432,  446 
Aphroditopolites,  i.  96 
Api,  i.  79;  ii.  30,  109 
Apis,  ii.  353 
Apis,        incarnation      of 

Osiris,  i.  330 
Apis  Bull,  i.  26,  27 ;  ii. 
195-201,    212;    signs 
of,  described,  ii.  350 
Apis  (city),  i.  99 
Apis-Osiris,  ii.  195-201 
Apit,  goddess,  i.  127 
Apollinopolis    Magna,    i. 

431 ;  ii.  93,  95,  278 
Apollinopolis    Parva,    i. 

431,  467 
Apollo,  i.  486 ;  ii.  187 
Apollo     Amyclaeus,     ii. 

2S2 
Apollopolites,  i.  96 
Apdph,  ii.  245 
Apostles,  i.  5 
Ap-rehu,  ii.  242 
Ap-rehui,  i.  427  ;  ii.  142, 
242 


390 


INDEX 


Ap-senui,  ii.  142 

Apsetch,  ii.  310 

Apsli,  ii.  25 

Apshait,  ii.  378 

Ap-shat-taui,  ii.  324 

Apsi,  ii.  324 

Apsit,  ii.  92 

Apt,  ii.  293 

Apt,  city  of,  i.  427 

Apt  (Thebes),  ii.  3 

Apt,  goddess  of  the  xith 

month,  i.  444 
Apt,  goddess  of  Thebes, 

ii.  3 
Apt-en-khet,  i.  178 
Apt-en-qahu,  i.  178 
Aptet,  ii.  25 
Apt-hent,  ii.  293 
Apt-net,  i.  178 
Apt-renpit,  ii.  293 
Apts,  the,  ii.  6,  7,  9,  10 
Apt-taui,  i.  254 
Apu,  i.  97,  470  ;  ii.  188 
Apu,  a  god,  i,  194 
Apu  (serpent),  i.  230 
Ap-uat,  i.  79,  102,  109, 
206,  210,  454,  493 ; 
ii.  26,  43,  119,   156, 
263,  322,  323,  367 
Ap-uat   of  Lycopolis,  i, 

98 
Ap-uat  meht  sekheni  pet, 

ii.  183,  323 
Ap-uat  rest  sekheni  taui, 

ii.  183 
Ap-uat-resu-sekhem  -  pet, 

ii.  323 
Apuleius,    ii.    217,    218, 

265,  266 
Apzu,  i.  291 

Apzu-rishtu,  i.  288,  289 
Aqan,  ii.  327 
Aqebi,  i.  182 
Aqeh,  ii.  325 
Aqen,  ii.  325 


Aq-her-amrni-unnut-f,   i. 

494 
Aq  -  her  -  am  -  unnut  -  f,  ii. 

129 
Aq-her-ami-unnut-f,     ii, 

oil 
Arab  angels,  i.  6 
Arabia,  i.  353,  498 
Arabian      influence      on 

Egyptian    religion,    i. 

Arabian  nome,  i.  96 
Arabs,  i.  41,  119,  401 
Aranbfi,  i.  241 
Ar-ast-neter,  i.  211 
Archaic  Period,  gods   of 

i.  78  ff. 
Archangels,  i.  5,  6 
Archemachus,  ii.  199 
Arenna,  ii,  283 
Arethi-kasatki-ka,  ii.  20 
Arethi-ka-sa-thika,,    ii, 

323 
Ar  gods,  ii.  249 
Ar-hes-nefer,  i.  464 
Ari-ankh,  i.  511 

Arians,  i.  69 

Ari-em-ab-f,    i.  419 ;   ii. 
325 

Ari-en-ab-f,  ii.  325 

Ari-hes,  i.  446 

Ari-hes-nefer,ii.289,  362 

Ari-Maat,  ii.  325 

Ari  -  maat  -  f  -  tchesef,     ii, 
129 

Ari-nef  Nebat,  ii.  294 

Ari-ren-f-tchesef,  ii.  322 

Ari- si,  ii.  325 

Aristotle,  ii.    357,    370  ; 
quoted,  i.  62 

Arit,  city,  i.  433 

Arit  (a  pylon),  i.  186 

Aritatheth,  i.  248 

Ariti,  i.  244 

Arits,  the,  i.  427 


Arkharokk,  i.  266 

Arkheokh,  i.  266 

Armaua,  ii.  291 

Armauai,  ii.  322 

Armani,  ii.  129 

Aroeris,  i.  467 

Arou,  ii.  308 

Aroueris,  ii.  187 

Arq-heh,  ii.  128 

Ar-ren-f-tchesef,  ii.  129, 
291 

Arrows,  i.  85 

Arsaphes,  ii,  58 

Arsiel,  i.  275 

Arsinoe,  town  of,  ii.  355 

Arsinoites,  i.  96 
Art,  ii.  307 
A-Sah,  ii.  308 

Asar,  ii,  323 

Asar  Aa  am  Annu,  ii.  182 
Asar  Aheti,  ii.  183 
Asar  Athi  her  ab  Abtu, 

ii.  183 
Asar  Athi  her  ab  Shetat, 

ii.  183 
Asar-am-ab-neteru,  i.  228 
Asar  Ankhi,  ii.  179 
Asar-Ankhti,  ii.  176 
Asar  Ap-shat-taui,  ii.  179 
Asar-Asti  i.  214 
Asar  Athi,  ii.  178 
Asar  Ba  her-.ib  Qemt,  ii. 

183 
Asar  baiu-tef-f,  ii.  182 
Asar  Ba  sheps  em  Tattu, 

ii.  179 
Asar-Ba-Tettet,  i.  371 
Asar-bati  (?),  i.  214 
Asar  Bati-er  pit,  ii.  176 
Asar  em  Aat-urt,  ii.  181 
Asar    em    ahat-f   em    ta 

Meht,  ii.  185 
Asar  em  ahat-f  nebu,  ii. 

185 
Asar  em  Akesh,  ii.  182 


INDEX 


391 


Asar  em  ankh  em  Ptah- 
het-Ra,  ii.  183 

Asar  em  Annu,  ii.  182 
Asar-em-An-rut-f,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Aper,ii.  177,180 
Asar  em  Apert,  ii.  181 
Asar  em  Asher,  ii.  182 
Asar      em-ast-f-ainu-Re- 

stau,  ii.  177 
Asar  em  -  ast  -  f  -  amu  -  ta- 

niL'h,  ii.  177 
Asar  em  ast-f  em  ta  rest, 

ii.  185 
Asar  em  ast-f  neb  meri 

ka-f  rim,  ii.  185 
Asar  em    ast-f  nebu,  ii. 

185 
Asar  em  Atef-ur,  ii.  181 
Asar  em  Aten,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Atet,  ii.  179 
Asar-ern-Ati,  ii.  176 
Asar  em  Baket,  ii.  177 
Asar  em  Bakui,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Bener,  ii.  182 
Asar  em  Betesk,  ii.  178 
Asar   em    Fat-Hern,    ii. 

178 
Asar    em    Hekennut,   ii. 

181 
Asar  em  Hemak,  ii.  182 
Asar  em  Hena,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Henket,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Hest,  ii.  179 
Asar  em  Het-aat,  ii.  182 
Asar  em   Het  Benbenet, 

ii.  182 
Asar    em     het-f    am     ta 

Meht,  ii.  181 
Asar    em     het-f    am    ta 

Reset,  ii.  181 
Asar    em-Het-f    em    Re- 

stau,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Kakheru-f  nebu, 
_   ii.  185 
Asar  em  ker-f  neb,  ii.  185 


Asar  em  khau-f-nebu,  ii. 

185 
Asar  em  Maati,  ii.  178, 

182 
Asar  -  em  -  Mehenet.     ii. 

176,  17D 
Asar  em  Mena,  ii.  182 
Asar  em  Nepert,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  nest,  ii.  181 
Asar    em    Netchefet,    ii. 

177 
Asar  em  Netchet,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Netebit,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Neteru,  ii.  177 
Asar  em  Netit,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Netra,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Nif-ur,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Pe,  ii.  177,  180 
Asar  em  Pe  Nu,  ii.  182 
Asar  em  Pekes,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Pesek-re,  ii.  177 
Asar  em  pet,  ii.  177,  181 
Asar  em  Petet,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Qefennu,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  qemau-f  nebu,  ii. 

185 
Asar  em  Renen,  ii.  180 
Asar    em  Rehenenet,   ii. 

177 
Asar  em   ren-f  nebu,  ii. 

185 
Asar  em  Rertu-nifu,  ii. 

181 
Asar-em-Resenet,  ii,  176, 

179 
Asar  em-Re-stau,  ii.  178 
Asar  em   Resu,   ii.    177, 

180 
Asar  em  Sa,  ii.  ]  S-_! 
Asar  em  Sati.ii.  178, 182 
Asar  em  Sail  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Sau-heri,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Sail  hert,  ii.  180 
Asar    em    Sau-klu-ri,    ii. 

177 


Asar  em  Sau  Khert,  ii. 

180 
Asar  em   seh-f  nebu,  ii. 

185 
Asar-em-Sehtet,    ii.    177 
Asar  em  Sek,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Seker,  ii.  181 
Asar  em  Sekri,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Sektet,  ii.  181 
Asar  em  Seshet,  ii.  181 
Asar    eDi   Shau,   ii.    178, 

182 
Asar  em  Shennu,  ii.  178, 

181 
Asar  em  Sunnu,  ii.  177, 

180 
Asar  em  ta,  ii.  181 
Asar  em  Ta-sekri,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Tai,  ii.  182 
Asar  em  taiu  nebu,  ii.  182 
Asar  em  Tauenenet,   ii. 

178 
Asar   em    Tchatchat,   ii. 

180 
Asar  em  Tept,  ii.  180 
Asar  em  Tepu,  ii.  178 
Asar  em  Teslier,  ii.  181 
Asar  em  Uhet  niekt,  ii. 

181 
Asar   em   Uhet-resu,   ii. 

181 
Asar  em  Uu-pek,  ii.  182 
Asar  Fa  Heru,  ii.  182 
Asar-Hap,  i.  513 
Asar-Hapi,  ii.  3-19 
Asar-Hapi   (Serapis),  ii. 

195-201 
Asar  Henti,  ii.  180 
Asar    Jleq    taiu    her    ab 

Tattu,  ii.  179 
Asar     heq     tchetta     em 

Annu,  ii.  181 
Asar  Her-ab-set,  ii.  176 
Asar    Her-ab-set    (semt), 

ii.  179 


392 


INDEX 


Asar-her-khen-f,  i.  214 
Asar  Her-shai,  ii.  178 
Asar  her  shai-f,  ii.  182 
Asar  Heru-khuti,  ii.  183 
Asar-ka-Amenti,  i.  214 
Asar  khent  Arnentet,  ii. 

185 
Asar  Khentet  Nepra,  ii. 

179 
Asar  Khentet  Un,  ii.  179 
Asar-khenti-. .  .  .,  ii.  176 
Asar  -  Kb enti  -  Amenti,  i. 

214 
Asar    Khenti    nut-f,    ii. 

177,  180 
Asar-khenti-peru,  ii.  176 
Asar  Khenti-Ee-stau,  ii. 

176 
Asar    Khenti -seh-hemt, 

ii.  178 
Asar   Khenti    Thenenet, 

ii.  179 
Asar  Khent    Ka-Ast,  ii. 

183 
Asar  Khent  Re-stau,  ii. 

179 
Asar  Khent  sehet  kauit-f, 

ii.  182 
Asar  Khent  shet  aa-perti, 

ii.  182 
Asar-neb- Amenti,  i.  214 
Asar  Neb-ankh,  ii.  176, 

179 
Asar  Neb-ankh  em  Abtu, 

ii.  182 
Asar     Neb-er-tcher,     ii. 

176,  179 
Asar   Neb-heh,    ii.    179, 

181 
Asar  neb    pehtet   petpet 

Seba,  ii.  183 
Asar  Neb  ta  ankhtet,  ii. 

180 
Asar     neb     taiu     suten 

neteru,  ii.  182 


Asar  neb  Tattu,  ii.  183 
Asar  neb-tchetta,  ii.  178, 

181 
Asar  Netchesti,  ii.  177 
Asar-nub-heh,  ii,  176 
Asar  (Osiris),  i.  79 
As-ar  (Osiris),  ii.  113 
Asar  Ptah-neb-ankh,   ii, 

176,  179 
Asar  Qeftennu,  ii.  117 
Asar-Saa,  ii.  176 
Asar  sa  Erpeti,  ii.  179 
Asar  Sah,  ii.  176,  179 
Asar  Sahu,  i.  214 
Asar  seh,  ii.  183 
Asar  Seker  em  shet  at,  ii. 

181 
Asar -sekhem- neteru,     i. 

214 
Asar  Sekhri,  ii.  177 
Asar  Sekri  em    Pet-she, 

ii.  177 
Asar  Seps-baiu-Annu,  ii. 

179 
Asar  Smam-ur,  ii.  117 
Asar  Taiti,  ii.  178 
Asar-Tet,  ii.  134 
Asar-thet-heh,  i.  214 
Asar  Tua,  ii.  177 
Asar-Unnefer,  ii.  176 
Asar  Un-nefer,  ii.  179 
Asar  Utet,  ii.  181 
Asbet,  ii.  302 
Asbet,  a  goddess,  ii,  204 
Asbu,  ii.  129 
Aseb,  ii.  323 
Asert  Tree,  ii.  42,  119 
Ashbu,  ii.  323 
Ashebu,  i.  176 
Ashem  of  Aru,  i.  83 
Ashem,  i.  38,  40,  41 
Ashemu,  i.  38,  40,  41 
Ashemu,  the,  i.  159 
Asher,  ii.  323 
Ashet  Tree,  ii.  61 


Ashet,  ii.  136 
Ashet,  i.  432 
Ash-hrau,  i.  226 
'Ashtoreth,  ii.  278 
Ashu,  ii.  323 
Ashur-bani-pal,  i.  290 
Asken,  i.  79 
Asmus,  i.  136 
As-neteru,  i.  240 
Aso,   queen  of  Ethiopia, 

ii.  188 
Ass,  ii.  253 
Ass,  Eater  of  the,  i.  208, 

210,  491 ;  ii.  246,  367 
Ass,  the,  ii.  367 
Ass,  the  speaking,  i.  19 
Asset,  i.  178 

'Aacrcopos,  i,  289 
Assyrians,  i.  18,  62 
As-t  (Isis),  ii.  114 
Ast  (Isis),  i.  79 
Ast,  ii.  202,  292,  302, 

317,  323 
Astabet,  i.  482 
Ast-amhit,  i.  228 
Astarte,  ii.  190 
Asten,  i.  402,  516;    ii. 

268 
Astennn,  ii.  325 
Astes,  i.  457 
Astes,  ii.  325 
Asthertet,  ii.  362 
Astharthet,  ii.  278,  279 
Asthertet,  i.  478 
Asti,  i.  370 
Asti-neter,  i.  244 
Asti-paut,  i.  244 
Ast-Net,  i.  452 
Ast-Netchet,  i.  211 
Ast  netert  em  ren-s  nebu, 

ii.  184 
Ast-Qerbet,  i.  353 
Ast-sen-ari-tcher,  ii.  129 
Ast-Sept,  ii.  55 
Aswan,  i.  11 


INDEX 


Asyut,  ii.  43 

At,  ii.  263 

A  tare  -  am  -teller  -  qenitu  - 

remiu-par-slieta,  i,  519 
.  \  t  ure  -  am  -  tcher  -  qemtu- 

ren-par-sheta,  ii.  326 
At  bar  a,  ii.  360 
Atch-ur,  ii.  327 
Ateb,  i.  470 
Atebui,  tlie  two,  ii.  155 
Atef  crown,  ii.  131,  144 
Atef-khent  (20tli  nome), 

i.  98 
Atef-pehu    (21st    nome), 

i.  98 
Atef-nr,  ii.  323 
Ateh,  ii.  206,  261 
Atek  -  tan  -  kehaq  -kheru, 

ii.  326 
Atem,  ii.  326 
Aternet,  ii.  65 
Aten,  i.  104 ;  ii.  16,  326 
Aten,  high,  priest  of,  ii. 

73 
Aten,  hymns  to,  ii.  75-79 
Aten-merit,  ii.  82 
Aten-neferu,  ii.  70 
Aten,  worship  of,  ii.  68- 

70,  ff. 
Atennu,  ii.  14 
Ater-asfet,  i.  79 
Atert,  i.  203 
Aterui-qerna,  ii.  128 
Ates-hra-she,  ii.  323 
Atet  (goddess),  ii.  61 
Atet  Boat,  i.  206,  338; 

ii.  11,  104,  105,  159 
Ateuchus     Aegyptiorum, 

i.  356 
At  ha,  i.  481 
Athenais,  ii.  190 
Athene,  i.  458,  461 ;  ii. 

217 
Athep,  i.  259 
Athi,  name  of,  ii.  148 


Athpi,  i.  2.30 

Athribis,   i.    100,    432; 

ii.  127 
Athribites,  i.  96 
Athroni,  i.  281 
Athn,  ii.  124 
Athuma,  ii.  283 
Athyr,  ii.  188 
Ati  (nome),  i.  99 
Atmu,  ii.  10,  11 
Atru  -  she-en-nesert-f-em- 

shet,  i.  178 
Atu,  i.  178 
Atuma,  ii.  283 
Aturti  Best  Meht,  ii.  185 
Au-a,  ii.  326 
Auai,  ii.  317 
Auain,  i.  346 
Auer,  i.  281 
Aukert,i.  145,  338;  ii.  9, 

323 
Aukert  (goddess)  ii.  116 
Aukert-khentet-ast-s,  ii. 

323 
Aunaauif,  i.  254 
Aurau-aaqer  -  sa  -  anq  -  re- 

bathi,  ii.  326 
Aurnab,  ii.  210 
Anrt,  ii.  134 
Aura,  i.  259 
Ausares,  (Osiris),  i.  300; 

ii.  113 
A  van's,  ii.  251 
Axe  =  god,  i.  64 
Axe,  the  flint,  antiquity 

of,  i.  64  ;    the  double, 

i.  65 
Azrael,  i.  5 
'Azza,  ii.  289 


Ba,  i.  sn,  if,:; 
Ba,  a  god,  i.  180;  ii.  26 
Ba  (god  of  Xlth  Hour), 
i.  200 


Ba  (Irou-god),  ii.  328 
Ba  (Set),  i.  4s  1 
Ba,  Soul,  i.  39 
Ba  =  World  Soul,  ii.  299 
Baabu,  i.  80,  110 
Baal,  ii.  250,  28 1 
Ba'al,  ii.  289 
Ba'al  Bam,  ii.  250 
Baal  Samame,  ii.  282 
Ba'al    Sephon,    ii.    281, 

282 
Ba'alath,  ii.  281 
Ba-ashem-f,  i.  80  ;  ii.  26 
Baba,  i.  80 
Baba,ii.  91,92,247,307, 

329 
Babai,  ii.  91 
Babat,  i.  370 
Babi,  i.  80 
Babua,  i.  80 
Babylon,  ii.  22 
Babylonia,  i.  277 
Babylonians,    i.    18,   62, 

273 
Bacchis  Bull,  ii.  352 
Bacchus,  ii.  199,  217,  253 
Back  =  Heqet,  i.  110 
Backbone  =  Sma,  i.  110 
Backbone    of    Osiris,   i. 

496 ;  ii.  122 
Bah,  i.  401,437;  ii.  26, 

329 
Bahtet,  i.  513 
Bahut,  i.  421 
Bai,  i.  344 ;  ii.  154 
Bai  (Ram-god),  ii.  329 
Bai  (Soul-god),  ii.  328 
Bairast,  i.  450 
Baireqai,  ii.  21 
F.airtha,  ii.  281 
Bain  amu  Tuat,  i.  220 
Bak,  i.  492 
Bak,  i.  516 
Baka,  i.  493 
Bakha,  the  Bull,  ii.  352 


394 


INDEX 


Bakhau,  i.  24,  79,  470  ; 

ii.  101,  352 
Bakrawiyeh,  i.  15 
Balaam,  i.  19 
Balance,  i.  521 
Balance,    the    Great,    i, 

358 
Balu,  ii,  250 
Bandage    of    Hathor,    i. 

437;    of  Nekkebet,  i. 

441 
Ba-neb-Tattu,    i.   100, 

103,  114;  ii.  64 
Banebtattu  -Hatmehit- 

Herupa-kkart,  i.  114 
Ba-neb-Tet,     ii.     353, 

354,  ff. 
Ba-neb-Tetet,  i.  496 
Ba-neb-Tettet,  ii.  329 
Ba-neb-Tettu,  ii.  292 
Ba-neteru,  i.  240 
Bant,  i.  198 
Banth-Anth,  ii.  278 
Bapi-f,  ii.  301 
Baqet,  ii.  62 
Bar,  ii.  27,  250,  251,  281 
Ba-Pta,  ii.  317 
Bare-Ast,  i.  446 
Barekathatchaua,  ii.  329 
Bari-Menthu,  ii.  250 
Bari-Euman,  ii.  250 
Barkal,  i,  16 
Barley,  i.  165 
Bartholomew,  i.  280 
Baru,  i.  79 
Bashu,  i.  515 
Basilisk  serpent,  i.  279 
Bast,  i.  100,  432,  444, 

ff.,  514;   ii.  28,  29, 

63,  275,  329,  362 
Bast,    identifications    of, 

i.  446 
Bastet,  i.  80,  110 
Basti,  i.  419,   445;    ii. 

329 


Bast  -  Sekhet  -  Eenpit,    i. 

432 
Basu,  ii.  284 
Bat,  the,  ii.  369 
Bath,  i.  194 
Bath-Anth,  ii.  278 
Bati,  ii.  328 
Bati-erpit,  ii.  328 
Ban,  ii.  329 
Beads,  nse  of,  i.  14 
Bear,  the,  ii.  365 
Beautiful  Face  (Ptah),  i. 

101 
Beautiful   Face,    i.    125, 

501 ;  ii.  7 
Beba,  ii.  66 
Bebait,  ii.  378 
Bebi,  ii.  91,  92 ;  ii.  329 
Bebo,  ii.  246,  247 
Bebon,  ii.  92 
Bebro,  i.  281 
Bedeyat  Arabs,  i.  17 
Beer,'  ii.  122 
Beer  of  eternity,  i.  165 
Beer  of  everlastingness, 

ii.  118 
Beer  of  Ka,  i.  365 
Bees,  i.  238 
Beetle-god,  ii.  130 
Beetle  in  boat  of  Ka,  i. 

356 
Beetle    of    Khepera,   ii, 

379 
Beetle,  the,  ii.  378 
Beetle,  the  living,  i.  246 
Beetles  used  in  medicine, 

i.  17 
Befen,  i.  487  ;  ii.  206 
Befent,  207 
Behbit,  ii.  255 
Behen,  i.  492 
Behutet,    i.   84,   85,  92, 

102,  427;   ii.   25,   35, 

133 
Behutet  (city),  i.  476 


Behutet  (goddess),  i.  431 
Behutit,  i.  427 
Bekatha,  ii.  305 
Bekennu,  ii.  20 
Bekhen,  ii.  31 
Bekhennu,  ii.  20 
Bekhent,  ii.  34 
Bekhkhi,  i.  192 
Bekhten,  ii.  37 
Bekhten,  Princess  of,  ii. 

38  ff. 
Bekhti-menti-neb  -  Maati, 

ii.  159 
Bel,  i.  305 
Bel  and  the  Dragon,   i. 

327 
BelbSs,  i.  450 
Belly  =  Nut,  i.  110 
Beltis,  ii.  281 
Benben,  ii.  71 
Benben-house,  i.  347 
Benbenit,     the      obelisk 

god,  i.  348 
Bene  Elohim,  i.  7 
Benen,  i.  192 
Benha,  i.  17 
Beni  Hasan,  i.  517 
Beiinu,  ii.  96 ;  ii.  116, 

289,  329 
Bennu-Asar,  ii.  303 
Bennu  =  Ra  and  Osiris, 

ii.  97 
Bennu,  the,  ii.  371 
Bennu,  the  Great,  ii.  59 

60,  160,  209 
Benra-merit,  ii.  256 
Bentet,  ii.  268 
Benth,  i.  211 
Benti-ar-aht-f,  i.  228 
Bent-Eeshet,  ii.  38 
Benutch,  ii.  25 
Beq,  i.  177  ;  ii.  263 
Bergmann,  i,  363 ;  ii.  90 
Berimon,  i.  281 
Berosus,  i.  305, 


INDEX 


395 


Berua,  i.  15 

Bes,  i.  498  ;  ii.  136, 209, 

270,  276, 280, 284  ff. 
Besa,  ii,  284 
Besa,  ii,  288 
Besabes-uaa,  i.  211 
Bes-aru,  i,  242 
Bes-Harpocrates,  ii.  286 
Bes-Horus,  ii.  286 
Besi,  i.  198,  347 
Besi-Shemti,  ii.  317 
Besitet,  iii.  213 
Bes-Ea-Temii,  ii.[286 
Bestet,  i.  445 
Beteslm,  i.  326 
Betet,  i.  272 
Biggeh,  ii.  51 
Biou,  ii.  307 
Birch,  Dr.  S.,  i.  63,  136, 

204,  208,  407,  434 
Birds,  sacred,  ii.  345 
Birth,  the  second,  ii.  116 
Black  Land,  i.  304 
Blacksmiths,  i.  85,  476, 

478,  485 
Blind  Horus,i.  299,470; 

ii.  370 
Bine  Nile,  i.  17 ;  ii.  360 
Boat  of  Isis,  i.  210 
Boat  of  Millions  of  Years, 

i.  333,  303,  488,  518 ; 

ii.  210,  260,  272 
Boat  of  Nepr,  i.  210 
Boat  of  Osiris,  i.  210 
Boat  of  770  cubits,  i.  85 
Boat  of  the  Earth,  i.  208, 

210 
Boats,  the  34  papyrus,  ii. 

129 
Boechoris,  ii.  352 
Boes,  i.  268 
Boethus,  i.  445 
Bone  of  Horus,  ii.  246 
Bone  of  Typho,  ii.  246 
Bonomi,  i.  178,  304 


Book   of   Breathings,    i. 

409 
Book   of  Coming  Forth 

by  Day,  i.  175 
Book  of  leu,  i.  267 
Book  of  Knowing  Evolu- 
tions of  Ra,  i.  294,  295 
Book    of     Overthrowing 

Apep,  i.  293,  294 
Book  of  Proverbs,  i.  122 
Book  of  the  Dead,  quoted, 

i.  23 
Book  of  the  Gates,  i.  328 
Book    of  the  Pylons,    i. 

174,  175,  304 
Book  of  the  Underworld 

described,  i.  204  ff. 
Book  of  Wisdom,  i.  122 
Books  of  Thoth,  i.  414 
Bouriant,  M.,  ii.  74 
Bous  fish,  ii.  382 
Bramble,  i.  19 
Bread,  ii.  122 
Bread  of  eternity,  i.  165 ; 

ii.  118 
Breast  =  Baabu,  i.  110 
Breasted,  Mr.,  ii.  74 
Bringers    of    doubles,    i. 

184 
Brittany,  i.  64 
Brugsch,  Dr.  H.,i.  63,67, 

89,  224,284,285,291, 

363,  367,  402  ff. 
Bua-tep,  i.  343 
Bubastis,    i.    100,    432, 

438,  444 
Bubastis,    described     by 

Herodotus,  i.  449 
Bubastis,  festivals   of,  i. 

448 
Bubastis  of  the  South,  i. 

446 
Bubastis,  triad  of,  i.  450 
Bubastites,  i.  96,  444 
Bull  =  Amen-Ra,  ii.  11 


Bull  Apis,  i.  26 
Bull,      Assyrian       man- 
headed,  i.  62 
Bull,  early  worship  of,  i. 

25 
Bull-god,  i.  427 
Bull  Mnevis,  i.  27,  330 
Bull  of  Arnentet,  i.  26  ; 

ii.  Ion 
Bull  of  Amenti,  ii.  350 
Bull  of  heaven,  i.  31 
Bull  of  Nut,  ii.  100 
Bull  of  the  Nine.  i.  109 
Bull  of  the  Underworld, 

i.  26 
Bull  of  the  West.  ii.  196 
Bull  Osiris,  ii.  31 
Bull-Scarab,  ii.  19 
Bull,  the   young,  ii.   14, 

15 
Bulls,  hoofs  of,  i.  58 
Bunau,  i.  259 
Bushes  =  clouds,  i.  306 
Busiris,   i.   \)o,  99,  103, 

115,  191,  469,  432;  ii. 

122,  14s.  252,  348 
Busirites,  i.  96 
Buss,  ii.  289 
Buto,  i.    24,   100,   115, 

438;  ii.  208,  211 
Butos,  ii.  192 
Buttocks  =  two  boats,  i. 

110 
Bums,  ii.  22 
Buwanat,  ii.  289 
Byblos,  ii.  74,  124,  189, 

190 


Cabasites,  i.  96 
Cabasus,  i.  100 
Cackler,    the    Great,   ii. 

96,  107,  108 
Caesarion,  i.  101 
Cailliaud,  i.  •"-•">( i 


196 


INDEX 


Cakes,  i.  178 
Cambyses,  i.  458;  ii.  352 
Campus  Martins,  ii,  218 
Canis  Major,  i.  488 
Cannibalism,  i.  28 
Canopic  jars,  i.  456 
Canopus,  i.  432  ;  ii.  199  ; 

Stele  of,  i.  448 
Cardinal  points,  i.  210 ; 

gods  of,  i.  158 
Cat,  ii.  248 

Cat  and  the  Ass,  ii.  368 
Cat,  Chapter  of,  ii.  272 
Cat,  god  and  goddess,  ii. 

363 
Cat  of  Neb,  ii.  209 
Cat=Ka,  ii.  61,  297 
Cat,   the   Great =Ka,    i. 

345  ;  ii.  107 
Cataract,  First,  ii.  25,  43 
Cataract,  Sixth,  i.  305 
Cerberus,  ii.  199 
Ceres,  ii.  218,  253,  367 
Cestrins  fish,  ii.  3«2 
Chabas,  i.   126,  136  ;  ii. 

146,  162,  365 
Chaos,  ii.  243 
Charmosyna,  ii.  200 
Chemmis,  i.  442  ;  ii.  188 
Chemres,  i.  442 
Chenoboscinm,  ii.  374 
Cheops,  i,  426 
Cherubim,  i.  6 
Cherubim,  i.  7 
Chimaera,  ii.  361 
Chin  —  Khert-khent-  sek- 

hem,  i,  110 
Choenus  fish,  ii.  382 
Chosroes,  i.  289 
Cicero,  i.  2 
Circle,    Hidden,    i.    339, 

340 
Circle  of  Amentet,  i.  216 
Circles   of  the    Tuat,    i. 

238 


Citharus  fish,  ii.  382 
Civitas  Lucinae,  i.  439 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,  i. 

414 
Cleopatra   VII.,    i.    161, 

329 
Cognizance,  the,  i.  25 
Combatants,  the  Two,  i. 

410,  475 
Constantine    the    Great, 

ii.  351 
Coprophagi,  i.  294,  355  ; 

ii.  379 
Coptites,  i.  96 ;  ii.  252 
Coptos,  i.    97,  431 ;    ii. 

22,  189,  219,  378 
Copts,  i.  106,  143  ;  hell 

of,  i.  265 
Cord-bearers,  the  Twelve, 

i.  186 
Cord  of  Law,  i.  188 
Corrcinus  fish,  ii.  382 
Cory,  Anc.  Frag,  quoted, 

I  35 
Coukhos,  ii.  305 
Cow,  early  worship  of,  i. 

25   ' 
Cow-goddess,  ii.  19 
Creation,       Heliopolitan 

account  of,  i.  307,308- 

321;    order  of  events 

of,  i.  300 
Creation  Legend,  i.  18 
Creation  Series,  i.  279 
Creation,   Seven  Tablets 

of,  i.  288,  290 
Crocodile,  early   worship 

of,  i.  24  ;  worship  of, 

i.  2 
Crocodilopolis,  i.  95,  98, 

488  ;  ii.  355 
Crusher    of    Bones,    ii. 

59 
Cubit,    gods    of  the,    ii. 

29] 


Cusae,  i.  98,  432  ;  ii.  22; 

Hathon  of,  i.  434 
Cyclopes,  ii.  100 
Cynocephalus  Ape,  i.  17  ; 

ii.  364 
Cynocephalus  Ape  in  the 

Judgment,  i.  20,  21 
Cyuopolis,    i.    98,     102, 

432 
Cynopolites,  i.  96 


Dadianus,  i.  268 
AaXih  i.  289 
AaXos,  i.  289 
Dakhel,  ii.  22 
DamasciuB,  i.  289,  290 
Darius  II.,  i.  113,  464 
Darkness,    i.    202  ;    the 

outer,  i.  266 
Day  of  Judgment,  i.  5,  6 
Day -sky,  ii.  102,  105 
Days,    Epagomenal,     ii, 

109  ;    lucky    and    un- 
lucky, ii.  109  ;  gods  of, 

ii.  293 
Days  of  the  month,  gods 

of,  ii.  320,  322 
Dekans,  the  36,  ii.  304- 

308 
Delos,  i.  453 
Delta,  i.  24,  31,  93, 103  ; 

ii.  31 
Delta,  kingdom  of  Osiris 

in,  ii.  121 
Demi-gods,  i.  3 
Dendera,  i.  93,  97,  421, 

426,    429,    446,    464, 

484  ;  ii.  24,  55,  93,  95, 

108,  299 
Dendera,    Hathor    of,    i. 

435 
Dendera,  Osiris  scenes  at, 

ii.  131 
Deraarai  Hapaon,  i.  280 


INDEX 


397 


Der  al-Bahari,  i.  329  ;  ii. 

13,  285 
Der  al-Medina,  i.  437 
Der  al-Medinet,  i.  126 
De  Rouge,  E.,  i.  68,  69, 

100,  126,  136,  411 
Desert  gods,  i.  116 
Deus,  i.  69 
Deva,  i.  69 
Devourer   of  Amenti,    i. 

60 
Diana,  i.  448 
Dieisbalmerikh,  i.  281 
Dilgan,  ii.  316 
Diodorus,  i.  96,444,493; 

ii.  347,  352,  357,  364, 

366,  370, 375  ;  quoted, 

i.  62 
Diouysius  sent  to  Sinope, 

a  199 

Dionysos,  ii.  217 
Diopolites,  i.  96 
Diospolis,  i.  432  ;  ii.  22 
Diospolis  Magna,  i.  100 
Diospolis   Parva,    i.    97, 

431  ;  ii.  53 
Diospolites,  ii.  31 
Disk,  ii.  15 
Disk,    House    of  the,   i. 

513 
Disk,   the,  i.   336,  338; 

the  Great,  i.  340  ;  the 

winged,  481,  483 
Dives,  i.  171 
Divine  Providence,  i.  125 
Do-decagon    of   Jupiter, 

ii.  253 
Dog,  the,  ii.  366 
Dogs,  howl  before  a  death, 

i.  19' 
Door= Nut,  ii.  106 
Draco,  ii.  312 
Dumah,  i.  274 
Dumichen,  i.  34,  99,  516 
Dung-beetle,  i.  356 


Ea,  i.  289,  359,  360 
Earth,  i.  288 
Earth,  Boat  of,  i.  208 
Earth-gods,  i.  116 
East,  Gate  of,  i.  353 
East,  souls  of,  i.  107,  351 
Eater  of  the  Ass,  i.  208, 

209,  491  ;  ii.  246 
Eater  of  the  dead,  i.  20, 

60 
Ecclesiasticus,  i.  123 
Edfu,  i.  85,  92,  470, 477, 

499  ;  ii.  24,  278 
Egg,  i.  182;  ii.  110 
Egg-ball  of  beetle,  i.  357 
Egg  of  Seb,  ii.  95 
Egg,  the  Great,  ii.  107 
Eight  gods  of  Hermopolis, 

i.  519 
Eileithyia,  i.  97 
Eileithyiapolis,   ii.    155, 

372  ' 
Eileithyiaspolis,     i.    24, 

431,  437 
Eisenmenger,  i.  171,  275, 

278  ;  quoted,  i.  7,  21 
El,  i.  66,  67 

Elements,  the  four,  i.  288 
Elephant,  i.  31  ;  ii.  365 
Elephant  in  predynastic 

times,  i.  22 
Elephantine,    i.    95,    96, 

107,286,365,431,463; 

ii.  43,  44,  51,  52,  53, 

91,  148,  354,  365 
Elephantine,  triad  of,  ii. 

49  ft. 
El-Kab,  i.  439,  Hi7 
Elolnm,  i.  133,  141 
Elves,  i.  L2 
Elysian  Fields,   i.    103, 

168  ;  ii.  62,  63 
Embalmment,  Ritual  of, 

i.  454 
Em-khent-maati,  i.  80 


Enen,  i.  81.  89 
Enenet,  i.  81 
Enenet-hemset,  i.  289 
Enen-retui,  i.  230 
Enkht  honin,  i.  266 
En-me-shar-ra,  ii.  316 
Ennead,  i.  114 
Ennit,  i.  286,  289,  291 
Ennukaru.  ii.  2s". 
Ennutchi.    the    Nine,    i. 

lss 
Entair,  i.  281 
Eututi,  ii.  317 
Euzu,  ii.  316 
Lone,  i.  281 
Eoureph,  i.  281 
Epagomenal  days,  ii.  L09 
Epaphos,  ii.  346 
Ephesus,  Council  of.  ii. 

66 
Epping,  J.,  ii.  316 
Erebos,  i.  285 
Erelim.  i.  7 
Erinnyes,  ii.  100 
Erman,    Dr.,    quoted,    i. 

329 
Ermen-hert,  i.  98 
Erment,  i.  161,  32'.' 
Ermen-ta,  i.  194 
Ermenu,  i.  250,  259 
Ermenui,  i.  248 
Eros,  i.  285 
Erpat  =  Seb,  ii.  95 
Erta-  hen-er  -  reqau,    i. 

177 
Erta-nei-nebt.  ii.  129 
Ertat-Sebanqa,  i.  177 
Esau,  ii.  281 
Eshmtinen,  i.  401 
Esna,  i.  97 ;  ii.  66 
Esneh,  i.  452,  463,  461 
Eteoph,  i.  281 
Eternity,  bread  and  beer 

of,  i.  165 
Etet.  ii.  304 


398 


INDEX 


Eudoxus,  ii.  253 

Euphrates,  i.  277 

Eusebius  quoted,  i,  35 

Euthari,  i.  281 

Eve,  i.  19 

Evening,    Hatlior    of,    i. 

107 
Evil  Eye,  i.  13,  14 
Eye,    name  of  Ea,   3-40, 

342 
Eye  of  Flame,  i.  447 
Eye  ofHorus,i.  109,165, 

202,  248,  363,  457,  467 
Eye  of  Nu,  i.  306 
Eye  of  Nu  =  the  Moon, 

i,  299 
Eye  of  Nu  =  the  Sun,  i. 

298 
Eye  of  Ea,  i.  364,  365, 

446,  516,  517;  ii.   8, 

161 
Eye  of  Ea  =  Meh-urt,  i. 

422 
Eye  of  Tern,  i.  158,  305, 

*446 
Eye,   the   Black  =  Aah, 

i.  413 
Eye,  the  White  =  Ea,  i, 

413 
Eyes,  cure  for  sore,  i.  17 
Eyes  =  Hathor,  i.  109 
Eyes  of   Ptah-Tenen,    i. 

510 
Ezekiel,  i.  62 


Fa,  i.  250 

Fa-a,  ii.  17 

Fa-akh,  i.  178 

Face  =  Ap-uat,  i.  109 

Faces,  god  of  four,  i.  85 

Faket,  ii.  128 

Famine,  the  seven  years', 

ii.  54 
Fa-pet,  i.  178 ;  ii.  330 


Farafra,  ii.  22 
Father  of  fathers,  ii.  51 
Fa-trau,  i.  211 
Fayyiim,    the    home    of 

huge  serpents,  i.  11 
Feather  of  Maat,  i.  20 
Feka,  i.  433 
Fentet-ankh,  ii.  139 
Fenti,  i.  419 
Fetish,  i.  28 
Field  of  Grasshoppers,  i. 

344,  420 
Field  of  Hetep,  i.  367 
Field  of  Peace,  i.  58,334; 

ii.  120 
Field  of  Plants,  ii.  121 
Field  of  Eeeds,  i.   334; 

ii.  121 
Fields  of  Siri,  i.  35,  36 
Fields  of  the  spirits,  i. 

186 
Fiery  Lake,  i.  35 
Figs,  i.  58 

Figs  in  heaven,  ii.  118 
Fig    tree    of   heaven,  i. 

165 
Fig  tree  speaks,  i.  19 
Fingers,  the  two,  i.  85 
Fire,  i.  288 
Fishes,    mythological,  i. 

324 
Fish-god,  i.  303 
Fish-gods,  ii.  382 
Fish,  worship  of,  i.  2 
Flame  (uraeus),  i.  184 
Flesh  of  Osiris,  i.  234 
Flesh  of  Ea,  i.  226,  273 
Flesh  of  Tern,  i.  234 
Flint  cow-goddess,  i.  25 
Followers  of  Horus,i.  84, 

491,  158 
Food,  celestial,  i,  164 
Forty-two    Assessors,    i. 

418,  153 ;  ii.  62 
Forty-two  Judges,  i,  38 


Fountain  of  the  Sun,  i. 

328 ;  ii.  108 
Frazer,  Mr.   G.,   quoted, 

i.  43 
Fringes,  i.  14 
Frog,  the,  ii.  378 


Gabriel,  i.  5,  278 
Gabriel     and     his     600 

wings,  i.  5 
Gate  of  Osiris,  i.  230 
Geb,  ii.  94 
Gebelen,  i.  435 
Gehenna,  i.  273 
Gehenna,  chambers  of,  i. 

275 
Gehenna,  river  of,  i.  275 
Gehenna,  size  of,    i.  274 
Ge  Hinnom,  i.  273 
George  of  Cappadocia,  i. 

268 
George,  Saint,  i.  489 
Gir-tab,  ii.  316 
Gizeh,  ii.  361 
Gizeh,    Pyramids    of,    i. 

471 
Gnomes,  i.  12 
Goblins,  i.  12 
God,   One,   i.    131,   132, 

133 
God,  conception  of,  i.  57 
God  on  the  staircase,  i. 

191 
God,  self  produced,  i.  134 
Gods,  mortal,  i.  6 
Gods  of  archaic  Period, 

i.  78 
Gods      of     Egypt,     the 

foreign,  ii.  275-290 
"  Gods,"  the,  conception 

of,  i.  57 
Gods,  the  Eighteen,  i.  86 
Gods,   the   forty-two,   ii. 

159 


INDEX 


199 


Gods  =  The     names    of 

God,  i.  134 
Gods,  the  oldest  company 

of,  i.  282  ff. 
Gods,  the  Twenty-seven, 

i.  83,  87 
God-mother,  ii.  221 
God-Soul,  i.  148,  302 
Goldziher,  qnoted,  i.  278 
Golenischeff,  ii.  '205 
Good  and  Evil,  ii.  '243 
Goose    of  Amen-Ra,    ii. 

374 
Goose  =  Seb,  ii.  04 
Goshen,  i.  100 
Grapes  in  heaven,  ii.  118 
Grasshopper,  ii.  370 
Grasshopper  of  Ea,  i.  445 
Grasshoppers,  i.  421 
Grasshoppers,    Field    of, 

ii.  120 
Great  Balance,  ii.  262 
Great  Bear,  ii.  240,  250 
Great  Cackler,  ii,  374 
Great  Green  Sea,  i,  480, 

511 
Great  Scales,  i.  36,  153, 

100 
Grebaut,  ii.  6 
Green  Crown,  ii.  26 
Griffith,  Mr.  F.  L.,  i.  64 
Gu-an-na,  ii.  316 
Gud-an-na,  ii.  316 
Gvnaecopolites,  i.  06;  ii. 
'31 


Haas,  ii.  24ii 
Habal,  ii.  289 
Hab-em-atu,  ii.  335 
Hades,  i.  263  ;  ii.  197 
Hades,  the  god,  ii.  108, 

349 
Haggi  Kandil,  ii.  72 
Ha-hetep,  ii.  335 


EJa-hra,  ii.  336 

Hai,  ii.  245 

Hai,  i.  334;  ii.  320,  336 

Hai,  Serpent-god,  ii.  367 

Hair,  i.  100 

Hair     of      Children     of 

Horus,  i.  210 
Hair   of   Horus   i.    157, 

466 
Hak,  ii.  2'. il 
Haker,  ii.  335 
Haker  festival,  i.  410 
Ha-kheru,  ii.  335 
Hall  of  Judgment,  i.  153 
Hall  of  Maati,  i.  38  ;  ii. 

62 
Hall  of  Meh-urt,  i.  423 
Ha-mehit  (city),  i.  406 
Hammonian  nome,  i,  96 
Ha-nebu,  i.  370  ;  ii.  151 
Hap,  i.  110 
Hap  (Apis),  Bull,  the,  i. 

26 ;  ii.  346 
Hap,  city  of,  ii.  133 
Hap,  Hapi,  the  Nile-god, 
'  i.  178  ;  ii.  42,  43  ff. 
Hap  =  north,  i.  158 
Hap,    son    of  Horus,    i. 

491,  492 
Hapi,  i.   198,   45i; ;   ii. 

77,  129,  145,  184 
Hapi  (Nile),  i.  286,  335 ; 

ii.  4,  155,  336 
Hapi  (Nile-god),  i.  146, 

147 
Hapi  (son  of  Horus),  ii. 
"  336 

Hapi-Asmat,  ii.  309 
Hapi-Khuemu,  ii.  45 
Hapi-Ptah,  ii.  45 
Hapi-Nu,  ii.  47 
Hapiu  ( Apis),  ii.  336 
Hap-re,  ii.  289 
Hap-semu-8,  i.  241 
I.Iap-tcheserts,  ii.  302 


I.Iapti-ta-f,  i.  242 

I.I  apt-re,  ii.  336,  363 

I  Ifip-ur,  ii.  52 

Haqa  -  haka  -  11a  -  lira,     ii. 

336 
Haq-p-khart,  i.  t69 
Hare-god,  i.  427  ;  ii.  371 
Hare,  nome  of,  i.  28 
Harepukahasharesha- 

baiu,  i.  511) 
IJarethi,  ii.  336 
Harmachis,  i.  470;  ii.  10, 

75 
Harpocrates,  i.  285,  468, 

469,  495;  ii.  L06 
Harpocrates  gods,  i.  464 
Harpocrates,  origin  of,  ii. 

194 
Harpukakashareshabain, 
'  ii.  336 

Hartmann,  i.  136 
Ha-sert,  i.  178 
Hashmalim,  i.  7 
Hat,  i.  401  ;  ii.  209 
Ha-tchat,  ii.  304 
Hat-chetchn,  i.  211 
Hatet,  i.  255 
Hathor,   i.  78,  03.   338, 

428-437  ;  ii.  2,  36,  93 

103, 136 
Hathor- Aphrodite,  i.  415 
Hathor     destroys     man- 
kind, i.  365 
Hathor,  flint  symbol   of, 

i.  25 
Hathor     of     Aphxodito- 

polis,  i.  97,  98 
Hathor  of  Cusae.  i.  98 
Hathor  of  Dendera,  i.  97 
Hathor      of       Diospolis 

Parva,  i.  97 
Hathor  of  Nut-ent-I.Iap, 

i.  98 
Hathors,    the    Seven,    i. 

433,  434 


400 


INDEX 


Hathors,  the  Twelve,   i. 

434 
Hat-mehit,  i.  114,  432  ; 
'  ii.  65,  354,  383 
Hat-mehit,  norne  of,  ii. 
'  64 

Hatshepset,  i.  160,  329  ; 
'  ii.  285 
Hau,  i.  23 
Hau-hra,  i.  326 
Hauna-ara-her-hra,     i. 

272 
Hawk,       antiquity        of 

worship  of,  i.  9 
Hawk-god,  ii.  372 
Hawk;  nome  of,  i.  27,  28 
Hawk,  the  Great,  ii.  11 
Hawks  as  abodes  of  dis- 
embodied spirits,  i.  16 
Head  =  hawk,  i.  109 
Hearing,  god  of,  ii.  298 
Heart  =  Bastet,  i.  110 
Heart,  Chapters  of,  i.  42 
Heaven,  i.  156  ff. 
Heaven  of  Osiris,  the,  ii. 

119 
Heb-Antet,  ii.  293 
Heb-api-hent-s  ii.  293 
Heb-apt,  ii.  293 
Heben,  i.  480,  492 
Hebenu,  i.  486 
Hebennrj,  i.  98,  494 
Hebes-ka,  i.  100 
Hebet,  i.    113;    ii.   213, 

255 
Hebi,  ii.  362 
Heb-Kert,  ii.  128 
Hebrews,  i.  41,  119  ;  ii. 

73 
Hebrews,  Heaven   of,   i. 

166 
Hebrews,  Hell  of,  i.  171, 

265 
Hebrews,  their  system  of 

Angels,  i.  6  ff. 


Hebs,  i.  244 
Hebset,  i.  241 
Hebt,  i.  492 
Heb-tep,  ii.  293 
Hebt-re-f,  ii.  336 
Hedgehog,  ii.  369 
Heels  =  souls    of  Annu, 

i.  110 
Heglik-tree,  i.  17 
Heh,  289 
Heh,  central   support   of 

heaven,  i.  157 
Heh,  Lake  of,  ii.  60 
Hehet,  ii.  2 
Hehi,  ii.  116,  337 
Hehu,  i.  113,  257,  258, 

283,  284 
Hehui,  ii.  2 
Hehut,  i.  113,  257,  258, 

283,  285,  289 
Heka,  i.  23 
Heka,   i.   82,   180;   ii. 

131 
Hekau,  i.  40  ;  ii.  4 
Hekemt,  i.  220 
Hekennnt,  i.  513 
Hekenth,  i.  234 
Hekret,  i.  23 
Heliopolis,    i.    92,   100, 

282,  328,  471 ;  ii.  4, 

5,  22,  95,  96,  97,  141 
Heliopolis      and       At  en 

worship,  ii.  68 
Heliopolis,    Bull    of,    ii, 

351,  352 
Heliopolis,    company    of 

gods  of,  ii.  85  ff. 
Heliopolis,    lions    of,    ii. 

360 
Heliopolis,    Mnevis    god 

of,  i.  26 
Heliopolis,  paut  of  gods 

of,  i.  88 
Heliopolis,    souls    of,    i. 

107 


Heliopolis,   sycamore   of, 

ii.  107 
Heliopolis      visited      by 

Piankhi,  i.  331 
Heliopolitan  doctrine,  i. 

333 
Heliopolites,  i.  96 
Helios,  ii.  93,  124,  186, 

187 
Hell,  i.  171  ff.,  263  ff. 
Hell,  prototype  of,  i.  12 
Hell.  Seven  Mansions  of, 

i.  278 
Hellanicus,  ii.  92 
Hem,  i.  81 
Hemaka,  ii.  116,  117 
Hememet,  ii.  154 
Hemen,  i.  81;  ii.  336 
Hemhemet,  i.  481 
Hemhemti,  i.  326 
Hem-nu,  ii.  336 
Hemt,  i.  228 
Hem-taiu,  i.  326 
Hemth,  i.  23 
Hemti,  ii.  336 
Henbi,  ii.  63,  336 
Heneb,  ii.  63 
Henena,  i.  81 
Hen-en-ba,  ii.  322 
Henen-su,  ii.  58,  98,  59, 

131 
Henhenith,  i.  228 
Hen-Heru,  i.  211 
Henkhisesui  (East  wind), 

ii.  296 
Henmemet,  i.    84,  159, 
'  160 ;  ii.  151 
Hennu  Boat,  i.  505,  506; 
'  ii.  117,  260 
Henotheism,  i.  136 
Hen-pesetchi,  i.  81 
Hensek,  ii.  336 
Hent,  i.  81 
Hent  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Hentch-hentch,  ii.  294 


INDEX 


401 


Henti,  ii.  337 
Henti  (Osiris),  i.  457 
Henti-requ,   i,    177 ;    ii. 

337 
Hentiu,  i.  198,  259 
Hent-neteru,  i.  254 
Hent-nut-s,  i.  244 
Hent-she,  ii.  337 
Hep,  i.  81;  ii.  42 
Hep  (Nile)  i.  81 
Hep-Meht,  ii.  43 
Hep-Eeset,  ii.  43 
Hep-ur,  i.  81 
Hepa,  i.  254 
Hepath,  i.  81 
Hephaistos,  i.  461,  501 
Heptanomis,  i.  96 
Heptet,  ii.  131 
Hept-seshet,  ii.  336 
Hept-shet,  i.  419 
Hept-ta,  i.  192 
Heq,  ii.  291 
Heq,  ka  of  Ka,  ii.  300 
Heqa,  ii.  357 
Heq-at  (nome),  i,  100 
Heqes,  ii.  129 
Heqet,  i.   82,  110,  329, 

431 ;  ii.  61,  109,  136, 

137,  213,  378 
Heqtit,  ii.  184, 338,  378 
Heq-ur,  ii.  302 
Her-ab-Khentu,  ii.  307 
Her-ab-uaa,  ii.  306 
Heracleopolites,  i.  96 
Heraclides,  ii.  199 
Heraclitus,  ii.  199,  200 
Her-a-f,  ii.  129 
Herakleopolis  Magna,  i. 

98,  354,  365,  472 ;  ii. 

5,22,58,59,148,155, 

159 
Her-aua,  ii.  291 
Her-ba,  i.  345  ;  ii.  320 
Hercules,  ii.  199,  200 
Herent,  i.  492 
ii — d  d 


Herert,  i.  186 
Her-hepes,  i.  81 ;  ii.  85 
Her-hequi,  i.  222 
Heri-akeba-f,  ii.  337 
Heri-sep-f,  ii.  60,  337 
Heri-seru,  i.  419 
Herit,  i.  202 
Heri-uru,  ii.  337 
Her-ka,  i.  463 
Her-khu,  i.  222 
Hermanubis,  i.  493 ;  ii. 

265 
Hermes,  i.  402,  414 ;  ii. 

124,  187,  193 
Hernionthis,  i.  328,  431, 

469;  ii.   22,  24,  352, 

357 
Herinonthites,  i.  96 
Hermopolis,  i.  95, 98, 149, 

332,   400,   405,  432; 

ii.  30,  92,   107,   149, 

353,  375 
Hermopolis,  Eight   gods 

of,  i.  292 
Hermopolis  Magna,  ii.  22, 

51 
Hermopolis  of  North,  i. 

427 
Hermopolis  of  South,  i. 

427 
Hermopolis,  Souls  of,  i. 

107 
Hermopolites,  i.  96 
Herodotus,     quoted      or 

referred  to,  i.  1,  444, 

448,  452,  514 ;  ii.  96, 

208,    346,    353,    357, 

358,364,366,369,370- 

372,  375 
Heron,  the,  ii.  373 
Heroopolis,  i.  354;  ii.  31 
Heroopolites,  i.  353 
Her-pest,  i.  480 
Her-qenbet-f,  i.  188 
Her-sha-f,  ii.  58 


Her-sha-s,  i.  256 
Her-she-f,  ii.  58 
Her-shefi,  i.  98 
Her-sheft,  ii.  58  ff. 
Her-she-taiu,  i.  248 
Her-she-tuati,  i.  244 
Her-ta,  ii.  337 
Her-taui,  ii.  337 
Her-tep-aha-her-neb-s, 

ii.  301 
Her-tept,  ii.  134 
Hert-ermen,  i.  246 
Her-tesu-f,  i.  232 
Hert-rmntua,  i.  255 
Her-thertu,  i.  38,  49 ;  ii. 

34 
Hertit,  i.  325 
Hertit-an,  ii.  337 
Hert-ketit-s,  i.  255 
Hert-nekenit,  i.  256 
Hert-nemmat-set,  i.  256 
Hert-sefu-s,  i.  256 
Her-tuaiu,  i.  211 
Heru  (Horus),  i.  78,  81 ; 

ii.  317,  337 
Heru-ai,  ii.  337 
Heru,  an  official,  ii.  63 
Heru-aa-abu,  i.  498 
Heru-aah,  i.  81,  497 
Heru-ahai,  i.  498 
Heru-am-henu,  i.  81 
Heru-am-hennu,  i.  497 
Heru  -  ami  -  abu-her-ab  - 

ami-khat,  i.  498 
Heru-ami-atken,  i.  498 
Heru-an-mut-f,  i.  470 
Ileru-ap-shata,  ii.  139 
Heru-ap-sheta-taui,      ii. 

'  302 
Heru-behutet,  i.  96,473; 

'  ii.  248 
Heru-behutet  and  Set,  i. 

'  489 

Heru-em-au-ab,  ii.  3u2 
\[ eru-em-heb,  ii.  84 


402 


INDEX 


Heru-ein-ket-Aa,  i.  413 
Heru-ein-kkebit,  i.  498 
Heru-em-kkent-an-inaati, 
'  ii.  337 

Heru-kebenu,  i.  486 
Heru-kekennu,   i.    473 ; 

ii.  260 
Heru-kekenu,  i.  206,  450 
Heru-kennu,  i.  469 
Heru-ker-kket,  ii.  301 
Heru-ker-neferu,  i.  498 
Heru-ker-uatck-f,  ii.  322 
Herui    (Horus-Set),    ii. 

337 
Herui  (nome),  i.  97 
Herui-senui,  ii.  337 
Heru-ka,  ii.  303 
Heru-ka-nekkt,  ii.  214 
Heru-ka-pet,  ii.  302 
Heru-kkabit,  i.  211 
Heru-kkart,  i.  81 
Heru-kkent-an-maati,    i. 

299,  468 
Heru-  kkentet  -  an  -  maati, 
'  ii.  183 

Heru-kkent-kek,  i.  498 
Heru-kkenti-aket-f ;     i, 
'  228 
Heru-kkenti-an-Maati,  i. 

470 

Heru-kkenti-kkat,  i.  470 
Heru  -  kkenti  -  maati,    i. 
494 

Heru-kkent-kkattki,     ii. 

'  184 
Heru-kkent-kkatitk,     ii. 

'  293 
Heru-kkent-peru,  i.    81, 

497 
Heru-kkesbetck-maati,  i. 

81 

Heru-kkuti,  i.  336,  349, 
470  ff,  ii.  4,  293,  337 

Heru-kkuti-Kkepera,     i. 
'  470 


Heru-kkuti-Ra,  i.  352 
Heru-kkuti-Tem,  i.  470 
Heru-kkuti  -  Temu  -  Heru 

Kkepera,  i.  357 
Heru  -  kkuti  -  Ra  -  Temu  - 

Kkepera,  i.  472 
Heru-kkuttka,  i.  81 
Heru-ma-  taui  -  pa  -  kkart , 
'  i.  495 
Heru-merti,    i.    469    f. ; 

ii.  299 
Heru-neb-Mesen,  ii,  362 
Heru-neb-ureret,  i.  498 
Heru-netck-kra-tef-f,     i. 

495 ;  ii.  337 
Heru-netck-tef-f,  i.  488 ; 

ii.  135,  322 
Heru-netck-tef-f  em  ren- 

f  neb,  ii.  185 
Heru-nub,  i.  470,  426 
Heru-pa-kkart,    i.    469 
'  ff. ;  ii.  35 
Heru-pa-kkart,    son    of 

Hat-Mekit,  ii.  65 
Heru-pa-kkart,     son     of 

Osiris,  i.  495,  496 
Heru-pe-sketa,  ii.  302 
Heru-p-ka,  ii.  303 
Heru-p-kkart  of  Busiris, 

i.  469 
Heru-Ra-p-kkart,  i.  469 
Heru-sa-Ast,ii.l83,292, 

337 
Heru-sa-Ast-sa-Asar,    i. 
'  486 

Heru-sbati  (?),  ii.  301 
Heru-sekka,  ii.  212 
Heru-sekkai,  i.  498 ;  ii. 

183 
Heru-sept,   i.    81,    498, 

499 
Heru-skefi  =  Osiris,    ii. 

139 
Heru-skemsku,  i,  490 
Heru-sket-kra,  i.  498 


Heru-sku-p-kkart,  i,  469 
Heru-sma-taui,    i,     354, 
'  472 ;  ii.  249 
Heru-Tat,  i.  81 
Heru-ta-ta-f,  i.  358,  426, 

524 
Heru-Tekuti,  i.  414  ;  ii. 
'  184 

Heru-tema,  i.  468 
Heru-tesker,  ii.  303 
Heru-tesker-maati,  i.  81 
Heru,  tke  Hawk-god,  i. 

322 
Heru,  tke  oldest  god,  i. 
'  466 

Heru-tkema,  i,  486 
Heru-ti,  ii.  261 
Heru-Tuat,  i.  211 
Heru-tuati,  i.  196 
Her-uatck-f,  i.  497 
Heru-ur  (Aroeris),   i.   9, 
'  78,  102,  467  ff. ;  ii. 

109,   183,    241,   337, 

356,  378 
Heru-ur  and  Set,  i.  489  ; 

ii.  243 
Heru-ur   of    Sekkem,    i. 

99 
Heru-ur,  god  of  tke  Nortk, 

i.  468 ;  ii.  243 
Heru-ur  of  tke  Soutk,  i, 

467 
Her-ut-f,  i.  256 
Hes,  i.  433 
Hesamut,  ii.  312 
Hesat,  i.  82 
Hesentet,  ii.  181 
Hesepti,  i.  358,  506 
Hesert,  i.  401 
Hes-kra,  i.  519  ;  ii.  337 
Hesmennu,  i.  82 
Hes-nefer-Sebek,  i.  464 
Hespu,  tke,  i.  95-100 
Hes-tckefetck,  ii,  19,  338 
Het,  i,  97 


INDEX 


403 


Het,  i.  161 
Het-aa,  i.  513 
Het-Abtit,  i.  405 
Het-a-nekkt,  i.  478 
Het- Ant,  i,  492 
Het-baiut,  i.  496 
Het-Benben,  ii.  66,  73, 

97 
Het-Benbenet,  i.  331 
Het-Bennu,  ii.  128 
Heteh-a,  i.  211 
Hetch-abehu,  i,  419  ;  ii. 

338 
Hetchhetch,  i.  81 
Hetchiu,  i.  344 
Hetch-met,  i.  222 
Hetch-nau,  i.  218 
Hetch-nefer-Sebeq,  i.457, 

464 
Hetch-paar,  i.  88 
Hetch-re,  338 
Hetch-re-pest-tep,  ii.  338 
Hetchuti,  ii.  320 
Hetemet,  ii.  338 
Hetemet-baiu,  i.  178 
Hetemet-kkeiniu,  i.  241 
Hetemet-khu,  i.  244 
Hetemitet,  i.  232 
Het-ennut,  i.  469 
Hetep,  ii.  338 
Hetep  (city),  i.  161 
Hetepet,  city  of,  i.  429 ; 

ii.  381 ;  scarab  of,  i.  85 
Hetep-ka,  ii.  338 
Hetep  -  khenti  -  Tuat,     i. 

228 
Hetep-mes,  ii.  263 
Hetep-sekket,  i.  367 
Hetep-sekkus,  i.  495  ;  ii, 

338 
Hetep-taui,  ii.  338 
Heteptiu,  i.  226 
Hetep-uaa,  i.  242 
Hetepui,  i.  230 
Hetet,  ii.  213,  292 


Hetetet,  ii.  338 

Hetet-Sept,  ii.  268 

Het-her-ateb,  ii.  128 

Het-Hert  (Hathor),  i.  82, 
428-437;  ii.  293 

Het-Heru,  i.  78 

Het-ka-kknem-neteru,   i. 
51 

Het-ka-Ptah,  i.  502, 512, 
522 ;  ii.  i54 

Het-ka-Ptah    (see   Mem- 
phis), ii.  157 

Het-khaat,  ii.  249 

Het-khas,  ii.  255 

Het-khat,  i.  515 

Het-khebit,  i.  452,  464 

Het-maa-kheru,  ii.  128 

Het-Mut,  ii.  30 

Het-nefert-Tem,  i.  473 

Het-neh,  i.  492 

Het-Net,  i.  452 

Het-Nut,  ii.  103 

Het-Keshp,  ii.  283 

Het-sa-Ast,  ii.  374 

Het  -  sekhem,    ii.     255, 
256 

Het-ser,  ii.  210 

Het-Serqet,  i.  88 

Het-Seshesh,  ii.  108 

Het-stau-kker-aha-Ra,  i. 
228 

Het-suten,  i.  492 

Het-ta-her-ab,  i.  100 

Het-teft,  ii.  64 

Het-temtet-Ra,  i.  228 

Hettenuut,  i.  81 

Het-tua-Ra,  i.  228 

Het-uart,  ii.  251 

Het-ur-ka,  i.  88 

Het-urt,  ii.  51 
Het-utet,  i.  513 
Hidden-Face,  i.  343 
Hidden-House,  ii.  154 
Hidden-Name,  i.  48 
Hidden  One,  ii.  21 


Hidden-Souls,  i.  212, 213, 

215 
Hidden  symbols,  i.  222 
Hierakonpolis,     i.     431, 

476 ;  ii.  372 
Hierosolymus,    ii.    254 ; 

368 
High  priest  of  Memphis, 

i.  101 
High   priest   of  Thebes, 

title  of,  i.  101 
Hi-mu,  ii.  336 
Hinnom,  i.  273 
Hinu-en-Shu-nefer,    ii. 

93 
Hipponon,  i.  98,  494 
Hippopotamus  of  Set,  i. 

478,  480 
Hippopotamus,  the,  i.  24; 

ii.  359 
Hit,  ii.  287,  336 
Hobgoblins,  i.  12 
Hokhmah,  i.  296 
Holy  fathers,  i.  101 
Homer,  ii.  219 
Horapollo,i.  62,  234,284, 

356,    402,    461,    462; 

ii.  369,  375,  379,  381, 

382 
Horn    of    the    West,    i. 

205 
Horse  and  Ox,  Fable  of, 

i.  18 
Horus,  i.  78,  145,  146, 

180,   304,   341;    ii. 

129 
Horus  and  Set,  i.  484  ; 

ii.  31,  62, 244;  double- 
head,    i.     194;    fight 

between,  i.  117  ;  fight 

of,  i.  405,  475,  488  ; 

hold  the  ladder,  i.  167  ; 

their  fight,  ii.  212 
Horus  as  Advocate  in  the 

Judgment,  i.  490 


404 


INDEX 


Horus,    battle    of,    with 

Set,  ii.  125 
Horns-brethren,  the  two, 

i.  410 
Horns,  Cippi  of,  ii.  267- 

274 
Horus   cuts  off  head   of 

Isis,  i.  405 
Horus  =  To-day,  i.  487 
Horus,   Followers   of,    i. 

196 
Horus,  four  Children  of, 

i.  210,  228,  456,  497 ; 

ii.  106,  145,  249 
Horus,  four  Children  of 

as  gods  of  Dekans,  ii. 

309,  310 
Horus-gods,  the,  i.  466  ff. 
Horus,    ka    of,   i.    163 ; 

Ladder  of,  ii.  242 
Horus-name,  the,  i.  25 
Horus  of  Antaeopolis,  i. 

97 
Horus  of  Athribis,  i.  100 
Horus  of  Behutet,  i.  84 
Horus   of    Behutet    and 

Set,  i.  405 
Horus  of  Edfu,  i.  92 
Horus   stung  by  a  scor- 
pion, ii.  208,  272 
Horus  of  Hipponon,  i.  98 
Horus  of  Tanis,  i.  100 
Horus  of  the  East,  ii.  10 
Horus    of    the    Papyrus 

swamps,  i.  442 
Horus  of  Tu-f,  i.  98 
Horus  Pakht,  i.  518 
Horus,  two  Eed  Eyes  of, 

i.  497 
Horus  Seker,  ii.  145 
Horus  Sept,  i.  166,  200 ; 

ii.  145 
Horus-Set,  i.  200,  211 
Horus  the  Aged,  i.  84 
Horus  the  Blind,  i.  299 


Horus  the  Child,  i.  469 
Horus  the  Elder,  i.  188, 

467,  496 
Horus,  two  Blue  Eyes  of, 

i.  497 
Hours,    gods    and    god- 
desses of,  ii.  300,  301 
House  of  Osiris,  i.  103 
House  of  Shu,  ii.  93 
House  of  the  Net,  i.  405, 

407 
Hra-f-ha-f,  i.  81,  419;  ii. 

121,  337 
Hra-nefer,  ii.  337 
Hra-ua,  ii.  337 
Hu,  i.  81,  99,  203,  206, 

215,  472 ;  ii.  89,  297, 

299,  302,  336 
Hu  (city),  i.  492 
Hu  (the  Sphinx),  ii.  361 
Hu,  ka  of  Ea,  ii.  300 
Huaaiti,  i.  341 ;  ii.  317 
Hui,  ii.  336 
Huit,  god  of  Sphinx,  i. 

348 
Hu-kheru,     i.    176;     ii. 

336 
Human  sacrifice,  i.  234 
Hun,  i.  211 
Hunefer,  Papyrus   of,   i. 

131,  335,410,489;  ii. 

5,  6,  68 
Hunger,  ii.  118 
Hunt,  i.  81 
Huntheth,  i.  248 
Hur  al-'uyun,  i.  166 
Hurt,  ii.  213 
Hut,  i.  492 
Hutchaiui   (West  wind), 

ii.  296 
Hu-tepa,  i.  177 ;  ii.  336 
Hydrus,  the,  ii.  358,  359 
Hyksos,i.  104  ;  ii.  4,  69, 

250 
Hypsele,  i.  97 


Hypselis,  i.  431 ;  ii.  51 
Hyvernat  quoted,  i.  269 


Iai,  i.  280 

lad,  i.  280 

Ibis  =  Thoth,  i.  403 

Ibis-god,  i.  401 

Ibis,  the,  ii.  375 

Ibis,  worship  of,  i.  2 

Ibiu,  i.  432 

Ibrahim  Ruskdi,  i.  17 

Ichneumon,  ii.  370 

Ieana  Menaman,  i.  280 

I-em-hetep,    i.    14,    126, 

522,  523  ;  ii.  52 
I-en-her-pes,  i.  80 
Ieou,  i.  280 
Illahat,  i.  15 
Immortality,  i.  144,  151 
Imouthes,  i.  522 
Incarnation  of  Ainen-Ra, 

i.  330 
Incarnation  of  Osiris,  i. 

330 
Incarnation  of  Temu,  i. 

330 
Incense,  ii.  80 
Incense  trees,  ii.  209 
India,  ii.  200 
Ink-pot,  i.  411 
Inundation   (of  Nile),  i. 

10,  11,  44,  63,  123 
Iouo,  i.  280 
Ireqai,  ii.  328 
Iron,  ii.  241 
Iron   floor  of  heaven,  i. 

167,  491 
Iron  knife,  ii.  92 
Iron  sky,  i.  156  ff. 
Iron  throne,  i.  58,  158 
Isaeacus,  ii.  200 
Ishim,  i.  7 

Ishtar,  i.  273 ;  ii.  279 
Isis,  i.  58, 151,166,230, 


INDEX 


405 


231,341,431;  ii.  29, 
85,108,109,124,125, 
126,  129,  186,  187, 
202 

Isis  and  her  Seven  Scor- 
pions, i.  487 
Isis  and  Neplithys,   La- 
mentations of,  i,  293 
Isis  and  the  Virgin  Mary, 

ii.  220,  221 
Isis   as   enchantress,    ii. 

207 
Isis,  blood  of,  ii.  215 
Isis  Campensis,  ii.  218 
Isis,  Festival  Songs   of, 

i.  294 
Isis,  forms  of,  ii.  213 
Isis  and  Ra,  Legend  of, 

i.  360  ff. 

Isis,  mysteries  of,  ii.  217; 
sorrows    of,    Egyptian 
text,  ii.  222-240 ;  wan- 
derings and  troubles  of, 
ii.  206  ff. 
Isis  of  Cabasus,  i.  100 
Isis  of  Sapi-res,  i.  99 
Isis  of  Tithorea,  ii.  218- 

220 
Isis-Athene,  i.  459 
Isis-Hathor,  ii.  55 
Isis-Nebuut,  ii.  213 
Isis-Net,  i.  452 
Isis-Sati,  ii.  57 
Isis-Sothis,  ii.  55 
Island  of  Ateh,  ii.  209 
Isokhobortha,  i.  281 
Israel,  Children  of,  i.  19 
Israelites,  i.  136,  137 
Israfel,  i,  5 
Israi,  i.  280 
It  (city),  i.  492 
Ithyphallic  god,  ii.    17, 

18 
Iuaa,  ii.  69 
Iubani,  i.  326 


Iubau,  i.  326 
Iukasa,  ii.  20 
Iusaas,  i.  85 
Iusaas,  ii.  289 
Iusaas[et],    city    of,    ii. 

381 
Iusaaset,  i,  354,  432,  441, 

446 ;  ii.  29,  88 
Iusaaset-Nebthetep,       i, 

354 


Jackal,  ii.  367 
Jahannam,  i.  273 
James,  Saint,  i.  280 
Jebel  Barkal,  i.   14,  15, 

16 
Jequier,  quoted,  i.  178 
Jerusalem,  i.  273,  278 
Jews,  i.  19 
Jinn,  i.  14,  133 
John,  Saint,  i.  144 
Judaeus,  ii.  254,  368 
Judges,  Book  of,  i.  19 
Judgment  Scene,  ii.  142 

ff. 
Julius  Africanus,  i.  445 
Juno,  ii.  253 
Jupiter,  ii.  186,253,302, 

303 
Jupiter  Ammon,  ii.  22 
Justinian,  i.  289 
Juvenal,     i.      28,     36; 

quoted,  i.  1,  2 


Ka,  or  "  double,"  i.  34, 

39 
Ka  of  Osiris,  i.  149 
Ka,    son   of  Meh-urt,  i. 

516 
Ka,  the  god,  i.  286 
Kaa,  ii.  342 
Ka-Ament,  i.  198 
Ka-Amentet,  i.  240 


Kaarik,  ii.  342 
Ka-ari-ka,  ii.  20 
Kadesh,  ii.  27 
Ka-en-Ankh-neteru,    i. 

257 
Kaharesapusaremk  a  h  e  r- 

remt,  ii.  342 
Ka-hemhem,  i.  228 
Ka-her-ka-heb,  ii.  293 
Ka-heseb  (nome),  i.  100 
Ka-hetep,    ii.    139,   156, 

342 
Ka-hetep  (Osiris),  ii.  61 
Kahun,  ii.  285 
Kai,  i.  230 
Kaiekhos,  ii.  346 
Kait,  goddess,  i.  286 
Kakaa,  i.  329 
Ka-kau,  ii.  346,  351,  353 
Ka-khu,  ii.  301 
Kalabsheh,  ii.  288 
Ka-qem,  i.  492 
Ka-qem  (nome),  i.  100 
Kaqemna,  i.  122,  138 
Karau-Anememti,  i,  326 
Karnak,  ii.  22 
Kasa,  i.  98 
Kasaika,  ii.  20,  342 
Ka-set  (nome),  i.  99 
Ka-Shu,  i.  206 
Kasut,  i.  83 
Ka-taui,  ii.  301 
Katna,  ii.  23 
Kan  of  Ra,  i.  34 
Keb,  i.  369 
Keb-ur,  i.  259 
Kefi,  i.  198 
Kehkeh,  ii.  268 
Kehkehet,  ii.  342 
Kek,  i.  371 
Keket,  ii.  2 
Kekiu,  i.  113 
Kekiut,  i.  113 
Keku,  i.  241 
Kekui,  i.  283,  285;ii.2 


406 


INDEX 


Kemkem,  ii.  342 
Kenat,  i.  248 
Kenememti,  i.  326 
Kenemet,  ii.  22 
Kenemti,  i.  419 
Kenken-ur,  ii,  96 
Kemnu,  ii.  306 
Keninut,  ii.  304 
Kennu,  i.  433 
Kenset,  i.  85,  433,  492  ; 

ii.  42 
Kent,  ii.  280 
Kenur,  i.  83 
Ken-ur,  ii.  343 
Kepenut,  i.  433 
Kep-hra,  ii.  342 
Ker,  ii.  342 
Kereh,  i.  113 
Kerehet,  i.  113 
Kerh,  i.  283,  286,  289, 

371 
Kerhet,  i.  283, 286, 289 
Kesem,  i.  499 
Keset,  i.  433 
Ketuit-gods,  i.  346 
Ketuiti,  ii.  320 
Ketuit-ten-ba,  i,  211 
Kka  (?)  (nome),  i.  100 
Kha-gods,  i.  39,  43 
Kha,  Lake  of,  i.  158 
Kha-a,  i.  246 
Khaata,  i.  82 
Khabesu,  the,  ii.  154 
Kha-em-Uast,     ii.    350, 

351 
Kha-f-Ra,  i.  445,  472 
Khak-ab,  i.  326 
Khakhat,  i.  433 
Kka-nefer,  i.  512 
Khan-ru-  .  .  .  .,  i.  326 
Kharakhar,  i.  266 
Kharkhnoumis,  ii.  304 
Kkarsatha,  ii.  338 
Khartum,  ii.  360,  365 
Kharubu,  i.  326 


Khas,  ii.  31,  269 

Khas(?)-en-Sept,  i.  499 

Khasut  (Xo'is),  i.  99 

Khat,  i.  492 

Khat  (city),  i.  496 

Khatat,  i.  473 

Khati,  i.  344 

Khati  gods,  i.  457 

Khatra,  i.  215 

Khatri,  i.  241 

Khau,  ii.  308 

Khauit,  i.  433 

Khau-tchet-f,  i.  177 

Khebent,  ii.  338 

Khebet,  city  of,  ii.  208 

Khebetch,  i.  82 

Khebit,  Island  of,  i.  442 

Khebkheb,  ii.  139 

Khebs-ta,  i.  241 ;  ii.   63 

Khebset-urt,  i,  455 

Khebt,  ii.  213 

Kheft-hra-en-neb-s,  i.  437 

Khekh,  i.  516 

Khekhsit,  i.  432 

Kkekhuit,  i.  433 

Khem,  i.  97,  470 ;  ii.  17 

Khem  (god),  i.  97 

Khem  (nome),  i.  97 

Khema,  i.  274 

Khembis,  ii.  208 

Khemennu,  i.  98,  332, 
353,  358,  400,  401, 
457 ;  ii.  149,  297,  338 

Khemennu,  Eight  gods 
of,  i.  113,  292 

Khemi,  i.  419  ;  ii.  338 

Khemit,  i.  222 

Khemmis,   ii.   208,  210, 

Khemmis,  Island  of,  ii.  22 

Khenememti,  ii.  338 

Khennu,  ii.  356 

Khensu,  i.  39,  49,  82, 
447,  448,  464  ;  ii.  33, 
35,  36,  97,  293,  302, 
339 


Khensu  (nome),  i.  99 
Khensu-Behutet,  ii.  36 
Khensu-Hunnu,  ii.  35 
Khensu-Nefer-hetep,    ii. 

34  ff.,  39  ff. 
Khensu  -  nefer  -  hetep-Te  - 

huti,  ii.  37 
Khensu-pa-khart,  ii.  35, 

36 
Khensu-Ea,  ii.  35 
Khensu-Sept,  i.  82 
Khensu- Shu,  ii.  35 
Khensu-Tehuti,  ii.  35 
Khensu    the    chronogra- 

pher,  ii.  37 
Khens-ur,  i.  109 
Khent  (goddess),  ii.  292 
Khent-abt  (nome),  i.  100 
Khent-Abtet,  i.  431,  432 
Khent-Amenti,     i.     82, 

439 ;  ii.  138 
Khent-an-maati,  ii.  261 
Khent-em-meht-akeba,  i. 

455 
Khent-Heru,  i.  246;  ii. 

307 
Khent-Het-Anes,  ii.  129 
Kkent-Kheru,  ii.  307 
Khent-maati,  i.  82,  85; 

ii.  86 
Khent-Sehet,  ii.  263 
Khentet-hert,  ii.  305 
Khentet-Khast,  ii.  309 
Khentet-khert,  ii.  305 
Khenthi,  ii.  293 
Khenti  =  Thoth,  i.  402 
Khenti  Amentet,  i.  172, 

173  ;  ii.  339 
Khenti-Amenti,    i.     198, 

342;  ii.  117,317 
Khenti-ast-f,  i.  248 
Khenti-Aukert,  i.  215 
Khenti-heh-f,  ii.  129 
Khenti-khas,  i.  Ill 
Khenti-Khatthi,  ii.  339 


INDEX 


407 


Khenti-ment,  i.  248 
Khenti-qerer,  ii.  317 
Khenti  -  Tuat  =  Thoth, 

i.  226  ' 
Khenu,  i,  242  ;  ii.  25 
Khen-unnut-f,  i.  242 
Kheper,  i.  78 
Khepera,    i.    203,    257, 

294,  295,  297,  306, 

308-321,  336,  340, 

349,  470 ;  ii.  4, 14,  15, 

97,  301,  317,  338,  371, 

380 
Khepera  kheper  tchesef, 

i.  355 
Khepera-Ba-Tem,  i.  352 
Khepera-Ea-Temu,  i,  363 
Kheperi,  ii.  317 
Kheper-ta,  i.  511 
Khepert-kekui-kkaat- 

mest,  i.  257 
Khepera,  ii.  302 
Khepesh,  ii.  338 
Khepesh,     constellation, 

ii.  249 
Khephren,  i.  471 ;  ii.  361 
Khepi,  ii.  317 
Kheprer,  i.  78,  342  ;  ii. 

25,  130,  320 
Khepri,  i.  196 
Kher,  ii.  25,  339 
Kkera,  i.  107 ;  ii.  339 
Kher-aha,    i.    Ill,    178, 

425;  ii.  11,  154,  157 
Kher-heb  priest,  i,  331 
Kherp-hu-khefti,  i.  211 
Kherseket,  ii.  256 
Khersek-Shu,  i.  418 
Kkert-khent-Sekhem,    i. 

110 
Kheri-beq-f,  i.  494 
Kker-khept-Kenrnut,    ii. 

304 
Kher-khept-sert,  ii.  306 
Kher-khu,  i.  200 


Khermuti,  i.  326 
Kher-sebu,  i.  200 
Khersekhet,  i.  432 
Khersek-Shu,  ii.  339 
Kherserau,  ii.  339 
Khesef-at,  ii.  339 
Khesef-  haa-heseq-Neha- 

hra,  i.  230 
Khesef-hra,  i.  326 
Khesef-hra-ash-kkeru,  i. 

176 ;  ii.  339 
Khesef- hra-khemiu,      i. 

177 ;  ii.  339 
Khesef-kheniiu,  ii,  339 
Khesef-kkeint,  ii.  301 
Khesfu,  i.  246 
Kheta-Sar,  ii.  283 
Kheti  (a  serpent),  i.  192 
Khirepu,  ii.  283 
Khirie,  i.  281 
Khisasapa,  ii.  283 
Khnemet-ankh,  i,  435 
Khnemet-ankhet,  ii.  108 
Khnemet  -  em  -  ankh  -  an  - 

nuit,  ii.  338 
Khnemiu,  i.  201 
Khnem-renit,  i.  254 
Khnemu,  i.  78,  82,  95, 

96,107,180,200,254, 

286,    329,    463,    464, 

472,502,513;ii,49ff., 

91,  268,  322,  338,  354, 

379 
Khnemu  Ba-neb-Tet,  ii, 

64,  65 
Khnemu-  Ba-neb  -  Tettet, 

i.  354 
Khnemu-Hapi,  i.  146 
Khnemu  -  Her  -  shef    ii. 

58  ff. 
Khnemu  Heru-hetep,  ii. 

183 
Khnemu  -Heru-shefit,  i. 

354 
Khnemu-Nu,  ii,  52 


Khnemu  of  Ermen-hert, 

i.  98 
Khnemu   of   Shas-hetep, 

i.  97 
Khnemu -Osiris,    ii.    51, 

57,  58 
Khnemu-qenbeti,  i.  211 
Khnemu-Ba,  ii.  45,  51, 

131 
Khnemu-Seb,  ii.  51 
Khnemu-Shu,  ii.  51,  66 
Khnemu,  the  seven  forms 

of,  ii,  54,  55 
Khnemu-ut-em-ankh,   ii. 

139 
Khnoumis,  ii.  304 
Khoiak,  ii.  128,  130 
Khokhar,  i.  267 
Khokhe,  i.  281 
Khokheteoph,  i.  281 
Khontakhre,  ii.  305,  307 
Khontare,  ii.  305,  307 
Khoou,  ii.  307 
Khremaor,  i.  267 
Khu,  i.  163 
Khu  (a  Dekan),  ii.  307 
Khu,  god  of  Light,  i.  370 
Khu,  ka  of  Ea,  ii.  300 
Khu,  spirit,  i.  39 
Khufu,  i.  426,  445,  524 
Khui,  i.  211 
Khuit,  i.  432 
Khu-kheper-ur,  ii.  338 
Khu-tchet-f,  i.  177;   ii. 

338 
Khukhu,  ii.  307 
Khusrau,  i.  289 
Khut,  ii.  338 
Khut,    goddess,    i.    306, 

323 
Khut  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Khut  =  magical      cere- 
mony, i.  296 
Khut-Aten,   city    of,   ii. 

72  ff. 


408 


INDEX 


Khut-Nebat,  i,  447 
Khut-taui,  i.  512 
Khuti,  a  god,  I,  182 
King,   L.    W.,    i.    406; 

quoted,  i,  13,  273  ff., 

288,  289 ;  ii,  314 
Kings,    incarnations     of 

gods,  i.  3 
Kingu,  i.  327 
Kishar,  i.  289,  291 
Kiaaapi],  i.  289 
Knitousokhreoph,  i.  281 
Kohl,  i.  17 
Kom  Ombo,  ii,  109 
Konime,  ii.  306 
Kosmos,  ii,  243 
Koukiamin  Miai,  i.  280 
Krokodilonpolis-Arsinoe, 

ii.  357 
Kronos,  i.  467 ;   ii.  100, 

124,  186,  187 
Krophi,  ii.  44 
Kur'an,  quoted,  i.  5 
Kuresh,  i.  142 


Labyrinth,  i.  96 
Ladder  of  heaven,  i.  167, 
168,  490 

Ladder  of  Shu,  ii.  92 
Ladder,   the   Divine,  ii, 

241 
Ladder-bearers,  i.  188 
Lady  of  the  boat,  i.  207  . 
Lake  Moeris,  ii.  58,  347, 

357 
Lake  of  Aaru,  i.  297 
Lake  of  Battle,  i.  481 
Lake  of  Fire,  i.  35 
Lake  of  Flame,  i.  34 
Lake  of  Kha,  i.  158 
Lake  of  Life,  ii,  184 
Lake  of  Testes,  i.   335, 

339 
Lake  of  Uraei,  i,  184 


Lake  Victoria,  i.  11 
Lakes  of  Jackals,  ii,  120 
Lakes  of  the  Tuat,  ii.  120 
Lakhamu,  i.  289,  291 
Lakhmu,  i.  289,  291 
Lamb,  worship  of,  i,  2 
Lamellicorns,  ii.  379 
Lamkhamor,  i.  266 
Land  of  the  Spirits,  ii. 

287 
Lanzone,  i.  204,284,285, 

328,  354,  402  ff. 
Laraokh,  i,  266 
Lat,  ii.  289 
Latopolis,    i.    431,   463, 

468;    ii.    50,   51,  66, 

92,  356 
Latopolites,  i.  96 
Latreille,  i.  356 ;  ii.  381 
Latus  Fish,  ii.  382 
Lazarus,  i.  171 
Ledrain,  ii.  162 
Leek,  worship  of,  i.  2 
Lefebure,  M.  B.,  i.  180 

ff.,  205,  319,  349,  360, 

363 
Legge,  Mr.  F.,  quoted,  i, 

64 
Legs = twin  soul -gods,  i, 

110 
Lelet  al-Nukta,  ii.  47 
Leo,  sign  of,  i.  464 
Leontopolis,  ii.  347,  361 
Leontopolites,  i.  96 
Leopard     with      human 

head,  i.  61 
Leopard    with    serpent's 

head,  i.  59 
Lepidotus   fish,  ii.    192, 

382 
Lepsius,  i.  34 
Letasashaka,  ii.  21 
Letopolis,  i.  99,  432  ;  ii. 

148,  157 
Leviathan,  i.  278,  279 


Libationers,  i.  101 
Libyans,  i.  188 ;  ii.  13 
Liddon,  Canon,  i.  144 
Lieblein,  i.  68,  69,  71 
Life  and  Death,  ii.  243 
Life,  everlasting,  i.  412 
Life,  plant  of,  i.  165 
Light  and  Darkness,  ii, 

343 
Light-bearers,  i.  200 
Linen,  ii.  118 
Linen  garments,  i.  165 
Lion  =  Amen,  ii,  2 
Lion,  the,  ii.  359-361 

sacred,  ii.  347 ;    wor- 
ship, i,  24 
Lion-god,  ii.  15 
Lion-gods,  the  Twin,  ii. 

88 
Lion  gods  and  goddesses, 

ii.  362 
Lips  of  deceased,  i,  109 
Lizard  with  human  head, 

i.  210 
Aoyo?,  the,  i.  407 
Loins  =  Pautti,  i,  110 
Longperier,    M.    Adrien 

de,  i.  64 
Lonkhar,  i.  266 
Lords  (angels),  i.  6 
Lotus,  i.  521,  522 
Lucian,  ii.  96 
Luxor,  i.  329  ;  ii.  22 
Lychnus  Fish,  ii.  382 
Lycopolis,   i.    98,    426, 

432,  434 ;  ii.  252,  262, 

353,  367 
Lycopolites,  i.  96 
Lynx,  i.  24,  324 ;  ii.  362, 

363 


Maa,  i.  254,  309 
Maa,  ka  of  Ba,  ii.  300 
Maa,  Sight-god,  ii.  298 


INDEX 


409 


Maa-ab,  i.  189 
Maa-ab-kkenti-aht-f,   i. 

228 
Maa-an  f,  i.  419 
Maa-anuf,  ii.  330 
Maa-atef-f,  i.  494 
Maa-atef-f- kkeri-beq-f, 

ii.  330 
Maa-ein-kerh,  ii.  129 
Maa-em-kerh-an-nef-em- 

bru,  i.  494 ;  ii.  330 
Maa-ennu-am-uaa,  ii.  302 
Maa-en-tef,  ii.  291 
Maa-ha-f,  ii.  380 
Maa-heh-en    renpit,    ii. 

330 
Maa  =  Hokhmah,  i.  296 
Maa-hra,  ii.  301 
Maaiu-su,  ii.  330 
Maakheru,  ii.  146 
Maa-kheru,  i.  408,  409 
Maam,  i.  492 
Maa-nefert-Ra,  i.  257 
Maa-tet-f,  ii.  129 
Maa-tbet-f,i.l78;ii.  330 
Mafi-uat,  i.  320,  344 
Maat,  i.  20,  80, 153,  323, 

338,339,346,352,370, 

416-420,  432,  433,  501, 

502;  ii.  5,  10,  11,  13, 

19,  26,  75,  145,  184, 

256,  330 
Maat,  boat  of,  i.  109 
Maat,  featber  of,  ii.  143 
Maat  goddesses,  ii.  92 
Maat,   lords  of,  ii.  150  ; 

assessors  of,  ii.  150 
Maat,  the  pedestal  of,  i. 

416 
Maat-Heru,  ii.  310 
Maat-Heru-Ast,  ii.  310 
Maat-Kknenm,  i.  80 
Maatet,  ii.  206,  207 
Maati,  i.  189,  418;   ii. 

330 


Maati  (city),  i.  433 
Maati,    Hall    of,   i.    38, 

153 
Maati-f-em-sbet,  ii.  330 
Maati-f-em-tes,    i.    419 ; 

ii.  330 
Maatuf-her-a,  ii.  330 
Maau-taui,  ii.  330 
Mabi,  ii.  37 
Macarius   of  Antiocb,  i. 

268 
Macedonians,  i.  272 
Macrobius,  ii.  352,  367 
Mafek,  i.  430 
Maftet,  i.  324 ;  ii.  363 
Maftet  (Lynx),  i.  85 
Magic,   Antiquity   of   in 

Egypt,  i.  13 
Ma-bes,  ii.  362 
Mahlufas,  i.  14 
Mainmari,  i.  280 
Mait,  ii.  363 
Makba-taiu,  i.  513 
Makhenut,  i.  467 
Makbi,  i.  211 
Makbiar,  ii.  293 
Mak-nebs,  ii.  302 
Malachim,  i.  7 
Mallet,  i.  459 
Mallet,  M.  D.,  quoted,  i. 

93,  454 
Mandrakes,  i.  365 
Mandulis,  ii.  289 
Maneros,  ii.  191 
Manes,  i.  3 
Manetbo,tbe  priest  quoted 

or  referred  to,  i.  332, 

445, 524  ;  ii.  199, 217, 

246,  346 
Man-god,  the,  i.  333 
Mankind,  destruction  of, 

Egyptian   text    of,    i. 

388,  399 
Mantis,  ii.  378 
Mantit  Boat,  i.  257 


Manu,  i.  351,  417,  470, 

516;  ii.  25,  101 
Maraeotis,  i.  96 
Marakhakhtba,  i.  280 
Marawi,  i.  16 
Marduk,  i.  277,  278,  279, 

305,  327  ;  ii.  314 
Marduk  and  Tiamat,  fight 

of,  i.  406,  407 
Marei,  i.  280 
Marie,  i.  280 
Mariette,i.  126,139,204; 

ii.  6,  23,  196,  354 
Marinus,  i.  289 
Mark,  Saint,  ii.  221 
Markhour,  i.  266 
Marniarakhtka,  i.  280 
Marne,  i.  64 
Marqatha,    ii.    21,    330, 
Mars,  ii.  253,  303 
Marua,  i,  15 
Mary,  the  Virgin,  i.  108, 

328  ;  ii.  107 
Mashkhith,  i.  274 
Maspero,  Prof.  G.,  i.  23, 

67,  71,  117,  142,  205, 

224,   404,    445,    486; 

ii.  13,  102 
Mastaba,  i.  330 
Master  of  the  back,  i.  194 
Master  of  the  front,  i.  194 
Masturbation,  i.  116,297 
Matariyeh,  i.  328 
Mat  Boat,  i.  110 
Matchat,  i.  457 
Miitchau,   the,    ii.   6,    7, 

10 
Matchet,  i.  433 ;  ii.  294 
Ma-tef-f,  ii.  322 
Maten  (nome),  i.  98 
Matenu,  i.  31 
Mater,  ii.  52,  53 
Mates,  ii.  60 
Mfites-sma-ta,  i.  218 
Matet,  i.  488 


410 


INDEX 


Matet  Boat,  i.  323,  331, 

332,  369 ;  ii.  104,  204 
Mati,  cat-headed  goddess, 

i.  201 
Mati  =  Sun-god,  i.  342 
Matter,  primeval,  i.  288 
Mail,  ii.  297 
Mau  (Ra),  ii.  61 
Mau-aa,  ii.  317 
Mau,  Dr.  A.,  ii.  217 
Maui,  ii.  139 
Mauit,i.80,167;  ii.  32, 

47 
Mauonbi,  i.  281 
Mau-taui,  i.  420 
Mauti,  ii.  317 
Maxims  of  Ani,  i.  126  ; 

of  Khensu-hetep,  i.  126 
Medan,  ii.  289 
Meh,  i.  482 
Meh-mahetch  (nome),  i. 

98 
Meh-ta-f,  ii.  127 
Meh-urit,  i.  511 
Meh-urt,    i.    422,   432; 

ii.  19,  61,  331 
Meli-urt,  Seven  wise  ones 

of,  i.  516 
Mehanuti-Ra,  ii.  331 
Mehen,  i.  180,  232,  234, 

2*38 ;  ii.  8,  331 
Mehenet,  i.  452,  464,  515 
Mehenit,  i.  462  ;  ii.  331 
Mehet,  ii.  128 
Mehi,i.402,491;  ii.  331 
Mehit-Tefnut-khut-Men  - 

hit,  i.  431 
Mehiu,  ii.  331 
Mehni,  i.  252 
Meht,  ii.  331 
Meht-khebit  -  sah  -  neter, 

ii.  331 
Meht-urt,  i.  80,  362,  455 
Mekes  sceptre,  ii.  8 
Meket,  i.  40 


Melcarthus,  ii.  190 
Members,   deification   of, 

i.  109,  110 
Memnon,  i.  1 
Memokh,  i.  281 
Memphis     (see    Het-ka- 

Ptah),  ii.  157 
Memphis,  i.  27,  95,  99, 

126,218,433,502,504; 

ii.  5,  22,  70,  92,  148, 

154,  347 
Memphis,  Apis  god  of,  i. 

26 
Memphis,    captured     by 

Piankki,  i.  331 
Memphis,  great  triad  of, 

i.  500  ff. 
Memphis,  high-priest  of, 

i.  101,  505 
Memphis,  high-priest  and 

high-priestess  of,  i.  101 
Memphis,  triad  of,  i.  114 
Memphites,  i.  96 
Men  and  women,  creation 

of,  i.  312 
Men,  destruction    of,   ii. 

93 
Men,  origin  of,  i.  304 
Mena,i.24,453;ii.346 
Men-a,  i.  244 
Menat,  i.  430,  432,  498  ; 

ii.  130 
Menat,  ii.  289,  362 
Menat,   goddess,    ii.    55, 

289 
Mendes,  i.  100, 101, 115, 

148,    191,    354,    403, 

496 ;  ii.  22,  64, 65,  66, 

116,  129,  153,  353 
Mendes,  Earn  of,  i.  27; 

ii.  51,  347,  354 
Mendes,  Stele  of,  ii.  354 
Mendes,  triad  of,  i.  114 
Mendesian  Ram,  i.  103 
Mendesium,  i,  96 


Menelaites,  i.  96 
Menenui,  i.  248 
Menes,  i.  24 
Menhet,  i.  426,  446  ;  ii. 

50' 
Menhet  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Menhi,  i.  241 
Menhit,  i.  431,  463  ;  ii. 

66,  92,  292 
Meni-ret,  i.  230 
Men-kau-Heru,  i.  330 
Men-kau-Ra,  i.  358;  ii. 

110 
Menkert,  i.  248 
Menkh,  ii.  330 
Menkhet,  i.  244 ;  ii.  213, 

256,  293 
Menlil,  ii.  289 
Menmemu,  i,  220 
Men-nefer,  i.  512 
Men-nefert,  i.  99 
Mennipos,  i.  281 
Menqet,  ii.  331 
Menruil,  ii.  289 
Men-sheta,  i.  191 
Ment  (?)  i.  437 
Ment,  i.  80  ;  ii.  330,  331 
Mentchat,  i.  457 
Mentef,  i.  80 
Menth,  i.  437 
Menthu,    ii.    23,   24  ff., 

331 
Menthu-Ra,  ii.  24 
Menti,  i.  498 
Mer,  ii.  331 

Mer  of  the  North,  i.  507 
Mer  of  the^South,  i.  507 
Mercury,  i.  449  ;  ii.  303 
Mer-en-aaui-f,  i.  254 
Mer-en-Ra,  i.  440,  441; 

ii.  25 
Mer-en-Ra-  Mehti-em-sa- 

f,  i.  77 
Meril,  ii.  288 
Meris,  ii.  331 


INDEX 


411 


Mer-Nit,  i.  31 
Mer-Ra,  ii.  207 
Meroe,  i.  15  ;  ii.  22 
Mersekhen,  ii.  213 
Merseklient,  i.  432;   ii. 

61 
Mert,  ii.  301 
Mert  goddesses,  ii.  256 
Mertet,  sea  of,  i.  480 
Merti,  ii.  25,  331 
Merul,  ii.  288 ;  titles  of, 

ii.  289 
Mer-ur  (Mnevis),  i.  26; 

ii.  331,  351 
Meruter,  ii.  289 
Mesen,  i.  473  ;  ii.  213 
Meskha,  i.  80 
Meskhaat,  i.  80 
Mesklien  Aat,  ii.  184 
Meskhen  Ment,  ii.  181 
Mesklien  Nefert,  ii.  184 
Mesklien  Seqebet,  ii.  184 
Mesklien,  the,  ii.  144 
Meskhenet,    i.    329;    ii. 

144,  359 
Meskhenet  of  Isis,  ii.  108 
Meskhent,  ii.  285 
Meskheti,  ii.  250,  312 
Meskhti,  i.  254 
Mesnet,  i.  476 
Mesniu,  i.  84,  476 
Mesore,  ii.  248 
Mes-peh,  i.  177  ;  ii.  331 
Mesperit-arat-maatu,     i. 

224 
Mes-Ptah,  i.  177 
Mesqet,  ii.  209 
Mesqet  chamber,  i.  494 
Mes-sep,  ii.  263 
Mes-sepekk,  ii.  331 
Mest,  i.  198 
Mest  (Amset),  ii.  291 
Mestcker-Sah,  ii.  308 
Mest-tcheses,  i.  211 
Mest-en-Asar,  i.  211 


Mestet,  i.  487;  ii.  206, 

207 
Mestetef,  i.  488  ;  ii.  206, 

207 
Mestha,  ii.  129  ;  ii.  145, 

331 
Mesu-nifu,  i.  202 
Metchetat,  i.  80 
Metchet-nebt-Tuatiu,    i, 

226 
Metchet-qat-utebu,i.  246 
Metelis,  ii.  22,  357 
Metelites,  i.  96 
Met-en-Asar,  i.  211 
Meteni,  ii.  289 
Metes,  i.  200 
Met-hra,  i.  228 
Metes-hra-ari-she,i.  176; 

ii.  331 
Metes-mau-at,  i.  218 
Metes-neheh,  i.  218 
Metes-sen,    i.    177 ;     ii. 

331 
Methyer,  i.  422 
Metternichj    Prince,     ii. 

205 
Metternich,  Stele,  ii.  205, 

220,  267-274 
Metu-khut-f,  i.  345;  ii. 

317 
Metu-ta-f,  ii.  331 
Meyer,  Herr,   quoted,  i. 

100 
Michael,  i.  5 
Miii,  i.  79,  97,  470,  496, 

507;    ii.    17,   20,   36, 

280,  293 
Min,  god  of  Panopolis,  i. 

97 
Min  (nonie),  i.  97 
Min- Amen,  ii.  8 
Minerva,  i.  453 
Minionor,  i.  284 
Mi-sheps,  ii.  330 
Mitani,  ii.  279 


Mitanni,  ii.  363 
M'Lennan,  Mr.  J.  F.,  i. 

29 
Mnenor,  i.  281 
Mnevis,  ii.  347,  351  ff. 
Mnevis  Bull,  i.  26 
Mnevis,     incarnation    of 

Ra  gods,  i.  330 
Moeris,  ii.  354 
Moloch,  i.  273 
Momemphis,  ii.  352 
Monophysites,  221 
Monotheism,  i.  120,  144 
Month,  i.  80 
Month,  gods  of  days  of, 

ii.  292 
Month  =  Khens-ur,      i. 

109 
Months,  gods  of,  ii.  292, 

293 
Monthiour,  i.  281 
Moon,  creation  of,  i.  370 
Moon-god,  i.  412,  413 
Moon   on   a  pedestal,  i. 

210 
Mophi,  ii.  44 
Morgan,  J.  de,  i.  22  ;  ii. 

365 
Morning  Star,  i.  107  ;  ii. 

97,  156 
Moses,  ii.  254 
Mother  of  Mothers,  ii.  51 
Mother,  reverence  for  the, 

i.  127 
Mother,  the  universal,  ii. 

28 
McaGfiK,  i.  288 
Mountain  of   Sunrise,'  i. 

470 ;  ii.  101 
Mountain   of  Sunset,  :i. 

351,  470  ;  ii.  101 
Mountain  of  the  West,  i. 

179 
Mouth,  Opening  of  the, 

i.  358 


412 


INDEX 


Mtesa,  i.  142 
Muhammad,    i.    5,    141, 

142 
Muhammad  'Ali,  ii.  205, 

267 
Muhammadans,    i.    5,  6, 

14,  19 
Muhammadans,     heaven 

of,  i.  166 
Muhammadans,    hell    of, 

i.  171 
Muhammad  wad-Ibrahim, 

i.15 
Mu-Hapi,  ii.  44 
Muit,  i.  80  ;  ii.  32,  47 
Mukhipaina,  ii.  283 
Miiller,  Right  Hon.  Prof. 

F.  Max,  i.  135 
Miiller,  W.  M.,  ii.  250, 

278,  283,  285 
Mummu-Tiamat,  i.  288, 

289 
Mut,  i.  80,88,431,518; 

ii.  28  ff.,  47,  159 
Mut-Bast-Isis,  i.  447 
Mut-hetep,  Papyrus  of,  i. 

351 
Muti-khenti-Tuat,  i.  244 
Mut-neb-set,  ii.  301 
Mut-nu,  ii.  32 
Mut  of  Asheru,  i.  446 
Mut -Sekhet- Bast -Men- 
hit,  ii.  29 
Mut  Temt,  ii.  29 
Mut-Uatchet-Bast,  ii.  29 
Mycerinus,    i.    358;     ii. 

110 
Mysteries  of  Isis,  ii.  217 
Mysteries    of    Osiris,    i. 

453 
Mysteries,  the  Eleusinian, 

ii.  217 
Myth  of  Pta,  and  Isis,  i, 

352 
Mythical  animals,  i.  59 


Naam,  ii.  26 

Naarerf,  i.  351 

Naarik,  ii.  332 

Na-ari-ka,  ii.  20 

Na-ateh,  i.  442 

Na-tesher,  ii.  322 

Na-ur,  ii.  322 

Naau,  332 

Naau-tchetta,  i.  437 

Nai,  i.  23,  326 ;  ii.  322 

Nak,  i.  324,  335  ;  ii.  8, 
11,  79,  332 

Nak,  ii.  332 

Nakada,  i.  31 

Nakith,  i.  232 

Nakiu-Menat,  ii.  317 

Name,  use  and  impor- 
tance of,  i.  10,  301 

Nana'i,  i.  281 

Napata,  i.  14  ;  ii.  22,  23, 
40 

Nareref,  ii.  60 

Nart,  ii.  149,  332 

Nasaqbubu,  ii.  332 

Nasaqebubu,  ii.  21 

Nastasenen,  ii.  40 

Nathkerthi,  ii.  332 

Natho,  i.  442 

Natura,  i.  68 

Nau,  i.  267  ;  ii.  62 

Nau,  i.  80;  ii.  1,  101, 
102 

Naucratites,  i.  96 

Nau-shesma,  i.  267 

Naut,  ii.  101,  102 

Naville,  i.  348,  353,  363, 
444,  445,  476,  498;  ii. 
278 

Neb,  House  of,  ii.  209 

Neb-abui,  i.  419  ;  ii.  332 

Neb-ankhet,  ii.  301 

Neb-Aqet,  i.  248 

Neb-aut-ab,  i.  450 

Neb-baiu,  i.  348 ;  ii.  320 

Neb-er-tcher,  i.  294,  305, 


308,  491 ;  ii.  61,  123, 

150,  153,  214,  332 
Neb-hrau,  i.  419  ;  ii.  332 
Neb-khat,  ii.  255 
Neb-Maat,  i.  419 
Neb-Maat-heri-tep  -retui- 

f,  i.  418  ;  ii.  332 
Neb-neteru,  ii.  301 
Neb-pat,  i.  244 
Neb  -  pehte  t  -  petpet-  seba, 

ii.  332 
Neb  -pehti  thes-menment, 

ii.  332 
Neb-pehti-thesu-menme- 

net,  i.  418 
Neb-s,  ii.  332 
Neb-sekert,  ii.  122 
Neb-Senku,  i.    348;    ii. 

320 
Neb-senti,  ii.  301 
Neb-tept  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Neb-Tesheru,  i.  516 
Neba,  ii.  332 
Neba-per-em-khetkhet,  i. 

419 
Nebes  Tree,  i.  468 
Nebiui,  i.  443 
Nebseni,  ii.  262 
Nebseni,  Papyrus   of,  i. 

419 
Nebt,  i.  352 
Nebt,  a  god,  i.  425 
Nebt-aha,  i.  189 
Nebt-ankh,  ii,  11 
Nebt-au-khent-Tuat,      i. 

244 
Nebt-het,  i.  80  ;  ii.  317, 

332 
Nebt-hetep,  i.  432 
Nebt-hetep,  i.  441 
Nebt-hetep,    counterpart 

of  Tern,  i.  354 
Nebt-Hetepet,  i.  438 
Nebti,  i.  244 
Nebt-khu,  i.  254 


INDEX 


413 


Nebt-mat,  i.  244 
Nebt-semu-nefu,  i.  240 
Nebt-setau,  i.  244 
Nebt-shiit,  i.  244 
Nebt-shefshefet,  i.  244 
Nebt-s-tchefau,  i.  184 
Nebt-tep-Ahet,  ii.  309 
Nebt-Thehent,  ii.  300 
Nebt-unnut,i,336;ii.332 
Nebt-usha,  i,  236 
Nebuchadnezzar    II.,    i. 

278 
Nebui,  211 
Nebuut,  i.  431,  463  ;  ii. 

67,  213 
Nectanebus  I.,  ii.  267 
Nectanebus  II.,  ii.  351 
Nef-em-baiu,  ii.  317 
Nefer-Abt,  i.  353 
Nefer-Ament    (nome  of), 

i.  441 
Nefer-hat,  ii.  129 
Nefer-hati,  i.  516 
Nefer-hetep  (god),  ii.  34 
Nefer-shuu,  i.  515 
Nefert,  i.  85 ;  ii.  332 
Nefer-Tem,    i.   80,  450, 

491 ;  ii.  362 
Nefer-Tem  (an  assessor), 

i.  419 
Nefer-Temu,  i.  520  ;   ii. 

332 
Nefer-Temu-khu-taui,   i. 

520 
Nefer  -  Temu  -  khu  -  taui  - 

iinkk-rekhit,  i.  520 
Nefer-tutu,  i.  101 
Nefer-uben-f,  ii.  287 
Nefert-iti,  ii.  75 
Neferus,  i.  433 
Negative    Confession,    i. 

38,  49,  145,  418 
Negroes,  i.  188,  519 
Negroes,      created       by 

masturbation,  i.  304 


Nehaha,  i.  480 
Neha-hau,    i.    419 ;     ii. 

333 
Neha-hra,    i.    231,    232, 

246 ;  ii.  333 
Nehata,  i.  244 
Nehbet  sceptre,  ii.  8 
Nehebet  sceptre,  i,  162 
Neheb-ka,  ii.  333 
Neheb-kau,  i.    81,  220; 

ii.  62 
Neheb-kau  (an  assessor), 

i.  419 
Neheb-nefert,  i.  419  ;  ii. 

333 
Nehebu-kau,  i.   455;  ii. 

63 
Neheh,  i.  371 
Nehemauait,  i.  427,  432 
Nehemauit,  i.  421 ;    ii. 

92 
Neheru,  ii.  38 
Nehes,  ii.  322 
Nehesiu,  ii.  333 
Nehesu,  i.  304 
Nehet,  Hathor  of,  i.  434 
Nehet-rest,  i.  516 
Nehi,  i.  347  ;  ii.  320 
Nehr,  i.  211 
Neht,  i.  81 
Nehui,  i.  258 
Neith,  i.  30,  32,  78,  92, 

93,  95, 103,  161,  246, 

450-465;    ii.    220, 

244,  269,  275;   early 

cult    of,    i.    31 ;     and 

crocodiles,  i.  32  ;  four 

forms  of,  i.  252 
Neith  of  Sais,  i.  99 
Neka,  ii.  333 
Nekau,   i.    177,  520;  ii. 

330,  333 
Nekheb,  i.  92,  95,  97 
Nekek-ur,  ii.  333 
Nekeuu,  i.  246 


Nekhben,  i.  81 
Nekhebet,    Nekhebit,    i. 

24,  81,  92,  95, 97,  329, 

431,  438  ff.,  479,  483 ; 

ii.  8,  25,  47,  48,  71, 

104,  269,  333,  372 
Nekhebet  Fakit,  i.  440 
Nekhebet-Isis,  i.  440 
Nekhekh,  i.  83  ;  ii.  102 
Nekhekh  (star),  i.  498 
Nekhen,  i.  84,  492, 497  ; 

ii.  155,  333 
Nekhen  (an  assessor),  i. 

419 
Nekhen,  Souls  of,  i.  107 ; 

watchers  of,  i.  161 
Nekhent,  i.  439 
Nekht  (god),  ii.  26 
Nekht,  ka  of  Ra,  ii.  300 
Nekht,  Papyrus  of,i.  335, 

435 
Nekht  (scribe),  ii.  69 
Nekiu,  ii.  302 
Nem,  ii.  333 
Nemanoun   (Nehemauit), 

ii.  190 
Nem-hra,  ii.  333 
Nemi,  i.  196 
Nemmes  crown,  ii.  8 
Nemu,  i.  521  ;  ii.  333 
Nen,  ii.  1 
Nenha,  i.  180 
Nentcha,  i.  436  ;  ii.  333 
Nenu,  i.  113,  286 
Nenuerbasta,  i.  184 
Nenuit,  i.  286 
Nen-unser,  ii.  333 
Nenut,  i.  113 
Nenutu-hru,  ii.  333 
Neolithic      Period     in 

Egypt,  i.  8 
Nepen,  i.  211 
Nepera,  ii.  332 
Nephismaoth,  i.  280 
Nephthomaoth,  i.  280 


414 


INDEX 


Nephthys,i.341,488;ii. 
85,  106,  109,  129, 
156,  186,  187,  254- 
260 

Nepmeh,  i.  180 
Nepr,  i.  210,  211 
Nepra,  ii.  45,  151 
Nepsiomaoth,  i.  280 
Ner,  ii,  333 
Nerau,  i,  177 ;  ii.  333 
Nerau-ta,  ii.  333 
Neri,  i.  177 ;  ii.  333 
Nert,  i.  254 
Nerta,  i.  254 
Nes-Amsu,  i.  293,  325 
Nesbet,  ii.  302 
Nesert,  i.  81,  432,  454, 

456,  515 
Neshmet  neb  tcbetta,  ii. 

184 
Nesht,  i.  326 
Nesi-Anisu,  papyrus   of, 

i.  271 
Nesi-Khensu,  papyrus  of, 

ii.  13 
Nesruekhef,  i.  258 
Nes-Min,  i.  293 
Nesru,  ii.  310 
Nesti-kkenti-Tuat,  i.  244 
Net,  i.  78 ;  ii.  19,  20, 

26,  61,  62,  63,  184 
Net,  fisbing,  ii.  120 
Net,  House  of  tbe,  i.  405, 

407 
Net  (Neitb),i.  450-465; 

ii.  333 
Net  of  tbe  Four  Winds, 

i.  407 
Net-Asar,  i.  212 
Net-hetep,  i.  453,  454 
Net-Ea,  i.  207 
Net-Menbit,  i.  403 
Netch-an,  ii.  322 
Netch-atef,  i.  228 
Netcb-baiu,  ii.  317 


Netcheb-ab-f,  i.  436  ;  ii. 

246,334 
Netcbeh-netcbeb,  i.  494 ; 

ii.  129,  334 
Netcbefet,  ii.  334 
Netchern,  ii.  334 
Netcbemtcbenit,  i.  161 
Netebeses,  i.  177 
Netcbesti,  ii.  320,  334 
Netcb-pautti,  i.  228 
Netcbses,  ii.  334 
Netebti-ur,  ii.  322 
Neteqa-bra-kbesef-atu,  i. 

176  ;  ii.  334 
Neter,  i.  41,  108 
Neter,  examples  of  mean- 
ing of,  i.  63,  72-74 
Neter-bah,  ii.  129 
Neter-kkaita,  i.  484 
Neter-kbertet,  i,  73;  ii. 

20 
Neter-neteru,  i.  242 
Neter-ta,  i.  443  ;   ii.   7, 

287 
Netert,  i.  41,  473 
Netert  (city),  i.  450 ;  ii. 

128 
Netert-en-khentet-Ea,  i. 

244 
Netetthaab,  i.  455 
Netetthab,  i.  81 ;  ii.  63 
Neteru,  i.  41 
Neteru  ent   Neter-kbent 

ent  amu  Tuat,  ii.  185 
Neteru  neterit  amu  Abtu, 

ii.  185 
Neteru,  Qerti,  ii.  185 
Neteru    semu    Tuat,    ii. 

185 
Neteru,  tbe,  i.  4 
Neterui  (nome),  i.  97 
Netbert,  i.  341 ;  ii.  317 
Netbetb,  i.  248 
Netbmamaotb,  i.  280 
Neti,  i.  81 


Neti  (Bati),  ii.  333 
Neti-bra-f-emma-mast  -  f, 

ii.  334 
Neti-sbe-f,  ii.  334 
Netit,  ii.  334 
Net-neb-ua-kbeper  -  autu, 

i.  214 
Netru,  i.  250 ;  ii.  213 
Netuti,  i.  342 
Neunbeit,  i.  89 
Newman,  Cardinal,  i.  144 
Ni,  i.  258,  286,  289,  291 
Nice,  Council  of,  ii.  66 
Nifu-ur,  ii.  155 
Nigbt  of  tbe  Drop,  ii.  47 
Night-Sky,  ii.  102,  105 
Nike,  ii.  187 
Nile,  i.  361,  362 
Nile,  tbe  celestial,  i.  107, 

174 
Nile-god,  ii.  40  ff. 
Nile-goddesses,  ii.  47 
Nile,    Inundation    of,    i. 

435 
Nile  =  Osiris,  ii.  123 
Nine  Bows,  ii.  356 
Nine  cbiefs,  tbe,  i.  182 
Nine  gods,  tbe,  i,  85  ff., 

182 
Nine  Ennutcbi,  i.  188 
Nineveh,  i.  19 ;  ii.  279 
Ni-ni,  i.  465 
Nit,  i.  30,  92,  110,  431, 

443 
Nit  (not  Neitb),  i.  286 
Nit-hetep,  i.  31 
Nit-tep-Ament,  i.  211 
No-Amon,  ii.  12,  31 
Nome  gods,  i.  95  ff. 
Nome-perch,  i.  28 
Nome  standards,  i.  30 
Nomes,  number  of,  i.  96 
Nomes  of  Egypt,  i.  27 
Nopsiter,  i.  280 
Nu,  i.  78,  109,113,134, 


INDEX 


415 


200,  257,  283,  284, 
291,  309,  341,  367, 

456 ;  ii.  2,  14,  15,  25, 

44,    317,    332;    battle 

of,  i.  241 ;  Eye  of,  i. 

306  ;  milk  of,  i.  331 ; 

the  aged,  i.  511 
Nu,   Papyrus  of,  i.  357, 

427;  ii.  62,  102 
Nubia,  i.  274,  304,  483 ; 

ii,  12,  17,  22,  40,  57, 

92 
Nubia,     civilization    of, 

Egyptian  origin,  i.  14 
Nubia,    Lower,     ii.    51 ; 

upper,  ii.  51 
Nubia,   tree  worship   in, 

i.  17 
Nubians,  ii.  23 
Nubit,  ii.  35,  356 
Nubit  (goddess),  ii.  36 
Nubt,  i.  80 
Nubt  (goddess),  ii.  108 
Nubt  (Hathor),  i.  437 
Nubti,  i.   468;  ii.  250, 

332 
Nubti  (Ombos),  i.  492 
Nudimmud,  i.  289 
Nun-shame,  ii.  316 
Nunut,  ii.  302 
Nut,  i.   113,  120,  172, 

200,  201,  257,  283, 

284,   291,    338,   339, 

341,367,369;  ii.  2, 

20,  62,  100-112,  184, 

317,  332 
Nut,  a  Lake,  i.  222 
Nut,  five  children  of,  ii. 

109 
Nut,  Sycamore  of,  ii.  107 
Nut-en-bak,  i.  98 
Nut-ent-Hap,  i.  99 
Nut-Hathor,  ii.  357 
Nut-Ta-Sebeq-hra,  i.  241 
Nuth,  i.  258 


Oases,  ii.  22,  251 
Oasis,  the  Great,  i.  464 ; 

ii.  22 
Oasis,  Minor,  ii.  22 
Oasis  of  Kharga,  i.  113 
Oasites,  two  nomes  of,  i. 

96 
Obelisk-god,  i.  348 
Obelisk,  House  of,  ii.  66, 

97 
Ogdoad,  i.  404 
Oia,  i.  280 

Oil  in  heaven,  ii.  118 
Oimenephtah,  i.  178 
Oimenepthah,  i.  304 
Olive   tree,    i.    165 ;    ii. 

62 
Olive  tree  speaks,  i.  19 
Olympus,  ii.  62 
Ombites,  i.  96 
Ombos,  i.  431,  468,  492 ; 

ii.  35,  356 
On,    i.    100,     328;    ii. 

148 
One=Amen-Ea,  ii.  9, 10, 

11 
One  Alone,  i.  132 
One,   name  of  Neith,   i, 

458 
Oneness  of  gods,  i.  131  ff. 
Onion,  worship  of,  i.  2 
Onuphis,  ii.  357 
Onuphites,  i.  96 
Onuphris,  ii.  352 
Oouskhous,  i.  281 
Ophannim,  i.  7 
Opsither,  i.  280 
Orion,  i.  39,  41,  88;  ii. 

215,  249 
Orthus,  ii.  361 
Orus,  ii.  187,  192,  193 
Oryges,  i.  190 
Osiris,  i.  103,   171;  ii. 

16,  85,  109,  113  ff. ; 

Amulets,  ii.  126;  and 


his  Cycle,  i.  77;  as  a 
Water- god,  ii.  122, 
123;  as  God,  i.  121; 
as  god  of  the  dead,  i. 
150  ;  as  the  god  of  the 
Kesurrection,  ii.  139 
ff. ;  Eye  of  Ea,  i.  236  ; 
Four  earthly  forms  of, 
i.  230  ;  Four  souls  of, 
i.  232  ;  Four  tombs  of, 
i.  232;  head  of,  ii.  118; 
his  nine  forms,  i.  214 ; 
his  sixteen  members, 
ii.  127;  history  of,  ii. 
124  ff. ;  history  of,  by 
Plutarch,  ii.  187  ff. ; 
hymn  to,  148  ff ;  hymn 
to,  hieroglyphic  text  of, 
ii.  162  ff  ;  Hymns  to, 
from  Book  of  the  Dead, 
ii.  153 ;  Khenti-Amen- 
ti,  ii.  118;  names  of,  ii. 
176  ff. ;  scenes  of  his 
burial  and  resurrection, 
ii.  131-138;  shrines  of, 
ii.  127  ;  soul  of,  ii.  65, 
159 ;  soul  of  in  an  ox, 
ii.  348  ;  the  Man-god, 
i.  13;  theTuat,i.  203; 
Un-nefer,  ii.  136, 153, 
155,  352 

Osiris  -  Bast  -  Heru-Heke- 
nu,  i.  450 

Osiris  =  Christ,  ii.  220, 
221 

Osiris  =  Pluto,  ii.  199 

Osiris  =  Water,  ii.  98 

Osiris  =  Yesterday,  i.  487 

Osiris-Aah,  i.  414 

Osiris  -An  -  JBast  -  Temt- 
Ari-hes,  i.  450 

Osiris-Apis,  ii.  47, 195- 
201,  349 

Osiris-Isis-Horus,  i.  114, 
240 


416 


INDEX 


Osiris-Ra,  i.  334 
Osiris-Ra    in    Tattu,    i. 

148 
Osiris-Seker,  i.  218,  417 
Osiris-Tet,  ii.  131 
Ostrich  feather,  i.  416 
Ouare,  ii.  308 
Ouestre-Bikoti,  ii.  305 
Oxyrhynchites,  i.  96  ;  ii. 

382 
Oxyrhynchus  fish,ii.  192, 

382 
Oxyrynchus,  i.  98,  432 


Pa-ait,  i.  468 
Pa-atemt,  i.  353 
Pa-Bar,  ii.  281 
Pa-Bast,  i.  444 
Pa-bil-sag,  ii.  316 
Pachons,  ii.  248 
Pagoure,  i.  280 
Pai,  i.  203 
Paireqa,  ii.  283 
Pa-khen-Arnent,  ii.  31 
Pa-khen-en-Arnen,  i.  100 
Pa-kkent,  ii.  356 
Pakheth,  ii.  362 
Pakht,  i.  517,  518 
Pakhth,  i.  432 
Palace  of  Shu,  ii.  93 
Palaces,   the   7    of    Ge- 
henna, i.  274 
Palaeolithic    Period     in 
Egypt,  i.  8^ 

Palaestinus,  ii.  191 

Palestine,   i.    142,    276; 
ii.  4,  83 

Palette,  i.  411,  427 

Palettes  (shields),  i.  25 

Pallas,  i.  458 

Pa-mer,  ii,  57 

Pa-mertet,  i.  515 

Pamyles,  ii.  186 

Pamylia,  ii.  186 


Pan,  ii.  353 

Pa-nemma-nernma,  i.  519 
Panic  Terrors,  ii.  188 
P-ankki,  i.  246 
Panopolis,   i.    97,    431, 

470  ;  ii.  22,  188 
Panopolites,  i.  96 
Pans,  ii.  188 
Paophi,  ii.  252 
Pa-paut-netera,  ii.  128 
Pa-penat,  i.  513 
Papyrus  plant,  ii.  125 
Papyrus  Swamps,  ii.  190, 

206 
Pa-Qerhet,  i.  353 
Par,  ii.  19,  20 
Paradise,     Egyptian,    i. 

165,  166 
Parehaqa-kheperu,  i.  518 ; 

ii.  329 
Par-neferu-en-neb-set,  ii. 

301 
Pa-Sebek,  ii.  357 
Pasemis,  i.  437 
Pashakasa,  i.  518;  ii,  329 
Pasht,  i.  517 
Pa-Shu,  ii.  299 
Pastophori,  ii.  217 
Pa-sui,  ii.  206 
Pa-Tern,  i.  432 
Pa-Thuhen,  ii.  127 
Paiini,  ii.  252 
Pausanias,     quoted,     ii. 

218 
Paut,  meaning  of,  i.  89 
Paut  of  earth,  i.  91 
Paut  of  gods,  the  Great, 

i.  86 
Paut  of  gods,  the  Little, 

i.  86 
Paut  of  heaven,  i.  91 
Paut    of    Heliopolis,  ii. 

85 
Paut  of  Horus,  i.  86 
Paut  of  ten  gods,  i.  87 


Paut  of  eleven   gods,  i. 

88 
Paut  of   twelve  gods,  i. 

88 
Paut  of  the  Tuat,  i.  91 
Pauti  of  gods,  i.  87 
Pe,  i.  84,  410,  492,  497  ; 

ii.  25,  107,  117 
Pe,  Souls  of,  i.  107 
Pe,  Watchers  of,  i.  161 
Peace,  Field  of,  ii.  118 
Pehreri,  ii.  329 
Pehu,  ii.  156 
Pehui,  ii.  304 
Pekh,  i.  517 
Pekhat,  i.  518  ;  ii.  329 
Pekhet,  i.  517 
Pekheth,  i.  517 
Pekhit,  i.  517 
Pekht  (city),  i.  517 
Pelusium,  ii.  128 
Pelusius,  ii.  191 
Pent,  i.  80 
Penter,  i.  200 
Penti,  ii.  329 
Pepi   I.,  i.  72,  77,  297, 

445 
Pepi  II.,  i.  77,  445 
Per-aa,  i.  242 
Per-ab,  i.  401 
Per-aha,  i.  481 
Per-Asar,  i.  99,  103 
Per-Asar- neb -Tettu,  ii. 

122 
Per-Atem,  i.  99 
Per-ba-neb-Tattu,  i.  100 
Per-Bast,  i.  100,  444 
Per-em-hru,  i.  174 
Per-em-khet-khet,  ii.  129 
Perer-amu-pet,  i.  51 
Pergamos,  Church  of,  i. 

301 
Per-Heru-nubt,  i.  470 
Perit,  i.  244 
Periu,  i.  200 


INDEX 


417 


Per-Kheniennu,  i.  421 
Per-khet,  ii,  65 
Per-Khut,  i.  496 
Per-Matchet,  i.  98 
Per-Menat,  i.  443 
Per-mert,  ii.  255 
Per-mest-en-Nut,  ii.  103 
Per-netchem,  i.  492 
Per  -  net  -  mut  -  kheper  - 

hetch,  i.  452 
Per-netch  -  Shu  -  ma-Nut, 

ii.  103 
Per-Nubt,  ii.  108 
Per-Nut,  ii.  103 
Per-Pakht,  ii.  213 
Per-Ra,  i.  452 
Per-rerehu,  i.  480 
Persea  Tree,  ii.  61,  371 
Persephone,  ii.  217 
Per-Sept,  i.  499 
Per-sui,  i.  488 
Per-Tehuti,  i.  100 
Per-Tehuti-ap-rehuh,  i. 

421 
Per-Tem,  i.  452 
Per-tennu,  i.  433 
Per-Uatchet,  i.  24,  92,  93, 

95,100,433,438,439; 

ii.  56,  117,  376,  442 

ff. 
Pert,  Festival  of,  ii.  129  ; 

season  of,  ii.  161 
Pesek-Re,  ii.  329 
Pesetchet,  i.  80 
Pesh-hetep-f.  ii.  301 
Pesi,  i.  256 
Peskheti,  ii.  329 
Pestet,  i.  250 
Pesthi,  i.  246 
Pestu,  i.  250  ;  ii.  329 
Pesuo,  ii.  306 
Pet-Annu,  ii.  Ill 
Petchatcha,  i.  492 
Pe-tep,  i.  441;  ii.  121, 

211 

ii — e  e 


Petet,  i.    488;    ii.    206, 

207 
Peti,  ii.  329 
Petra,  i.  252  ;  329 
Peukher,  i.  281 
Phagrorius  fish,  ii.  382 
Phagrus,  ii.  382 
Phagrus  fish,  ii.  192 
Phallephoria,  ii,  186 
Phallus  =  Hap,  i.  110 
Phallus  of  Osiris,  i.  496  ; 

ii.  65,  128,  193,  382 
Pharaoh,  i.  242,  361 
Pharbaethites,  i.  96 
Phaturites,  i.  96 
Philae,  i.  473,  523,  525  ; 

ii.  43,  45,  50,  57,  289 
Philip,  St.,  i.  280 
Philostratus,  ii.  96 
Phoenicia,  ii.  124 
Phoenix,  ii.  96,  371 
Phoutet,  ii.  304 
Phthemphu,  i.  96 
$u\afCTi]piov,  i.  234 
$v<ri<;,  i.  68 
Phylarchus,  ii.  200 
Physa  fish,  ii.  382 
Piankhi,  i.  331 
Pibeseth,  i.  444 
Pierret,  M.  P.,  i.  66,  68, 

140,  204,  459 
Pietschmann,  i.  415 
Pig,  i.  190  ;  ii.  368  ;  the 

black,  i.  496,  497 
Pi-hahiroth,  i.  353 
Pillars  of  heaven,  i.  210 
Pillars  of  Shu,  i.  467 
Pillars  of  the  sky,  i.  157 
Pilulariae,  ii.  380 
Pindar,  ii.  353 
Pi-neter-tuau,  ii.  303 
Pistis  Sophia,  i.  266  ff. ; 

ed.  Schwartze  quoted, 

i.  279 
Pi-tchepet,  i.  442 


Pi-tep,  i.  442 
Pithom,  i.  99,  353,  432 
Planets,  gods  of,  ii.  302 
Plato,  i.  332,  407 
Pleyte,Dr.,i.360;ii.91; 

quoted,  i.  99 
Pliny,  i.  96,  441,  444 ;  ii. 

96,    347,     370,    372; 

quoted,  i.  62 
Plutarch,  i.  150,  353,  422, 

448,  458,  459,  467, 

489,  493  ;  ii.  58,  123, 

126,    147,    241,    248, 

349,358,361,368,370, 

373,    375,    382;     his 

history  of  Osiris   and 

Isis,  ii.  186 
Pluto,  ii.  199 ;  ii.  217, 

253 
P-neb-taui,  i.  468 
Pneuma,  i.  285 
Polytheism,  i.  137 
Pompeii,  ii.  218 
Pomponius  Mela,  ii.  96 
Pontus,  ii.  197,  198 
Porphyry,  i.  356;  quoted, 

i.  62 
Power  of  Powers,  i.  40 
Power,  primeval,  i.  288  I 
Powers  (angels),  i.  6 
Precepts   of  Ptah-hetep, 

i.  122 
Precepts  of  Kaqemna,ii. 

123 
Precepts  of  Khensu-hetep, 

i.  127 
Priapeia,  ii.  186 
Priapus,  ii.  353 
Principalities,  i.  6 
Prisse  d' Avenues,  i.  122 
Prisse   Papyrus,   i.    122, 

124 
Proclus,  i.  459 
Prophets,  the,  i.  5 
Proserpine,  ii.  199,  218 


418 


INDEX 


Prosopis,  i,  432  ;  ii.  357 
Prosopites,  i.  96 
Proto-Semites,  i.  8 
Providence,     Divine,    i. 

125 
Psammetichus  I.,  ii.  350, 

351 
Pselket,  i.  401 
P-she-hert,  ii.  213 
Psino  ther,  i.  280 
Ptah,i.  78,  218, 500 ff.; 

ii.  7,  30,  35,  53,  66, 

329;  hook  of,  i.  502; 

of  Memphis,  i.  99  ;  of 

the  Beautiful  Face,  i. 

125  ;  second  life  of,  ii. 

350;  the  second, ii.  196 
Ptah-aneb-res-f,  ii.  293, 

330 
Ptah  Asar,  i.  502 
Ptah  Hapi,  i.  146,  502, 

503* 
Ptah-hetep,  i.  122,  125, 

126,  138 
Ptah-neb-ankh,  i.  500 
Ptah-Nu,  i.  502,  503 
Ptah-Seker,  i.  502;  ii. 

330 
Ptah-Seker- Asar,  i.  502, 

503,  523;    ii.  134, 

269 
Ptah-Seker-Tem,  i.  502; 

ii.  154 
Ptah-Sekhet-Ienihetep,  i, 

ii4 

Ptah-  Sekhet-Nefer-Tem, 

i.  450,  512 
Ptah-Sekri,  ii.  131 
Ptah-Tanen,  i.  489,502; 

503  ;  ii.  52,  66,  330 
Ptah-Tenen,  hymn  to,  i, 

508-512 
Ptah-Tettet  sheps  ast  Ea, 

ii.  183 
Ptenethu,  i.  96 


Ptenetu,  i.  441 
Ptolemai's,  i.  432 
Ptolemies,  the,  i.  26 
Ptolemy    Alexander,   ii, 

24 
Ptolemy  II.,  i.  332;  ii. 

354 
Ptolemy  IV.,  i.  523 
Ptolemy  V.  i.  523 
Ptolemy  Lagus,  ii.  348 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  ii. 

289 
Ptolemy   Soter,  ii.   197, 

199 
Ptolemy,  the  Geographer, 

ii.  31 
Punt,  ii.  6,  7,  65,  287, 

288 
Purgatory,  i.    171,    261, 

265 
Puteoli,  ii.  218 
Pythagoras,  ii.  351 
Pythagoreans,  ii.  252 
Python,  i.  11 


Qa  (god),  ii.  42 
Qa-Ba,  i.  345  ;  ii.  320 
Qah,  i.  492 
Qa-ha-hetep,  ii.  342 
Qa-hra,  ii.  343 
Qahu,  ii.  343 
Qaqa  of  Khemennu,  i.  332 
Qarth-Anthu,  ii.  278 
Qeb,  ii.  292 

Qebh  =  Khnemu,  ii.  50 
Qebhet,  ii.  51 
Qebhsennuf,  i.  83,  198, 

456, 491, 492  ;ii.  129, 

145,  184,  343 
Qebhsennuf  =  West,     i. 

158 
Qebhu,  i.  429 
Qebhu,  eighteen  gods  of, 

i.  86 


Qebti,  i.  97 

Qebui  (N.  wind),  ii.  295 
Qeften,  ii.  268 
Qemamu,  ii.  343 
Qemhusu,  ii.  343 
Qemqem,  i.  469 
Qem-baius,  i.  473 
Qereret,  ii.  148 
Qerert,  i.  149 
Qererti,  i.  342  ;  ii.  320 
Qer-Hiipi,  ii.  44 
Qerhet,  i.  353 
Qerneru,  i.  326 
Qersu,  ii.  106 
Qerti,  ii.  53,  148,  343 
Qerti    (an    assessor),    i, 

419 
Qerti,  the,  ii.  43 
Qesqeset,  i.  467  ;  ii.  108 
Qesem,  i.  100 
Qeset,  i.  161 
Qesi,  i.  98 
Qet,  ii.  294,  307 
Qetesh,  ii.  276,  279, 280, 

284 
Qetet,  ii.  129 
Qetetbu,  ii.  343 
Qettu,  i.  326 
Qetu,  i.  519 ;  ii.  343 


KA,i,34,78,146,322ff.; 
ii,  334  ;  and  his  cycle, 
i.  77  ;  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  men,  ii.  94 ; 
birth  of,  i.  462 ;  boat  of, 
ii.  210  ;  daily  birth  of, 
i.  204  ;  darts  of,  i.  85  ; 
eyes  of,  i.  363  ;  life  of, 
ii.  64  ;  mutilation  of, 
ii.  100 ;  myths  of,  i. 
359  ff. ;  religion  of,  i. 
332 ff.;  soul  of,  i.  149 
ii.  64;  the  Aged,  i. 
506  ;  the  Babe,  i.  506  ; 


INDEX 


419 


the  fourteen  doubles  of, 

ii.    300 ;     the     seven 

souls  of,  ii.  300  ;  the 

Seventy-five  Praises  of, 

i.  339-348 
Ea  and  Amen,  i.  105 
EaandApep,i.484,489; 

fight  of,  i.  405 
Ea  =  Fire,  ii.  98 
Ka  and  Horus  hold  the 

ladder,  i.  167 
Ea,  and  Isis,  Legend  of, 

i.  360  ff. 
Ea  and  Isis,  Legend  of, 

Egyptian  Text,  i.  372- 

387 ;  myth  of,  i.  352 
Ea-Asar,  ii.'  334 
Ea-Atem,  i.  101 
Ea-Ateni,  ii.  317 
Ea-er-neheh,  i.  437;  ii. 

26,334 
Ea-Harmachis,  ii.  69 
Ea-Heru,  i.  220 
Ea-Heru-khuti,    i.    148, 

178;  ii.  334 
Ea-Menthu,  ii.  27 
Ea-neferu,  Queen,  ii.  38 
Ea  of  Annu,  i.  100 
Ea-Osiris,  i.  334,  148 
Ea-Tem,  i.  92,  104,  105, 

131,   133,   148,    282, 

330,  350,  352  ;  ii.  61, 

85,  86,  90,  115,  334 
Ea-Tem-Khepera,  i.  282 
Ea-Temu,  i.  335 
Ea-Temu-Khepera-Heru- 

khuti,  ii.  361 
Ea,  worship,  i.  328 
Eahabh,  i.  278 
Eain,  i.  414 
Eameses  II.,  i.  142 ;  ii. 

27,  38,  278,  350,  362 ; 

serekh  of,  i.  26 
Eameses  III.,  i.  160,  331, 

512 ;  ii.  12,  37,  363 


Eameses  IV.,  i.  348,  364 
Eamessids,  ii.  12 
Eam-god,  ii.  203 
Earn  of  four  faces,  ii.  65 
Earn  of  Mendes,  i.  27  ; 

ii.  286, 351 ;  four  souls 

of,  i.  496 
Earn  of  Tattu,  i.  103 
Earn  =  Ea,  i.  342 
Earns'   heads,   the   four, 

ii.  51 
Eaqetit,  ii.  198 
Eashshaf,  ii.  283 
Eat,  i.  88,  90,  446,  458 
Eat,   counterpart  of  Ea, 

i.  287,  328 
Eat-tauit,  i.  328,431,469 
Eau,  i.  246 
Ee-au,  i.  492  ;  ii.  261 
Ee-a-nefer,  ii.  213 
Ee-henenet,  ii,  335 
Ee-hent,  ii.  335 
Eed  Crown,  i.  39,  53,  54 
Eedesiyeh,  ii.  281 
Eed  Horus,  ii.  303 
Eed  Land,  i.  304 
Eed  Sea  and  Nile  Canal, 

i.  353 
Eed-souls,  i.  203 
Eehehui,  i.  405 
Eehesaui,  i.  515 
Eeliesu,  i.  433 
Eehti,  ii.  335 
Eehu,  i.  443  ;  ii.  335 
Eehui,  i.  421,  475;   ii. 

335 
Eehui  (city),  i.  401 
Ee-Iukasa,  ii.  334 
Eekeh  netches,  ii.  293 
Eekeh  ur,  ii.  293 
Eekes,  i.  325  ;  ii.  335 
Eekh,  i.  252 
Eekhasua,  ii.  283 
Eekhi,  i.  343 ;  ii.  320 
Kekhit,  i.  159,  256 


Eekht,  i.  514 
Eekhti,  i.  410 
Eekhti  goddesses,  i.  462 
Eekhti  -  merti-neb-  Maati, 

ii.  335 
Eem,  i.  303 
Eemenaare,  ii.  308 
Eemen-ileru-an-Sah,  ii. 

308 
Eemen-kher-Sah,  ii.  308 
Eemi,   i.   303,  '341;   ii. 

317,  334 
Eem-neteru,  i.  240 
Eemrem,  ii.  184,  334 
Ee-nefert,  ii.  255 
Ee-qerert-apt-kkat,  i,  250 
Ee-Ea,  ii.  334 
Ee-Sekhait,  ii.  184,  334 
Ee-stau,i.  216,352,410; 

ii.60;  Chief  of,  ii.  116 
Ee-ur,  i.  492 
Eenenet,  i.  426  ;  ii.  144, 

335,  362 
Eenenet  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Eenen-sebu,  i.  198 
Eenenut,  i.  81 
Eenniu,  i.  201 
Eennutet,  ii.  293,  335 
Eenouf,  P.  le  Page,  i.  66 
Eenpet  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Eenpit,  i.  432 ;  goddess 

of,  ii.  55 
Eenpti,  i.  211 
Eepit,  i.  432 
Eeqetit,  i.  492 
Eeqi,  ii.  335 
Eerei,  ii.  21 
Eerek,  ii.  245,  335 
Eeret,  ii.  209,  249,  289, 

312 
Eeri,  i.  203 
Eert,  ii.  359 
Eerti,  i.  419  ;  ii.  335 
Eertu,  ii.  359 
Eertu-nifu,  ii.  335 


420 


INDEX 


Res-ab,  i.  176  ;  ii.  335 
Res-hra,  i.  176 ;  ii.  335 

Resenet,  i.  452,  464 

Reshef,  ii.  283 

Reshpu,  ii.  280,  282 

Rest-f,  i.  254 

Resurrection,  ii.  381 ; 
of  the  body,  i.  357; 
of  Osiris,  ii.  137,138; 
triune  god  of,  i.  508 

Reta,  i.  250 

RetJi-hen-er-reqau,  ii.  335 

Reta-nifu,  ii.  335 

Reta-sebanqa,  ii.  335 

Retasashaka,  ii.  335 

Rethenu,  i.  198 

Rethma,  i.  492 

Revillout,  i.  458 

Rhampsinitus,  ii.  366 

Rhea,  i.  467;  ii.  124, 187 

Romans,  i.  68 

Rosellini,  i.  60 

Rossi,  i.  360 

Royal  Library  at  Nine- 
veh, i.  18 

Rulers  (angels),  i.  6 

Rurutha,  i.  81 

Rut-en-Ast,  ii.  334 

Ruthennu,  ii.  279 

Rut-tetet,  i.  329 

Rutu-neb-rekhit,  ii.  334 

Rutu-nu-Tem,  ii.  334 


Sa,  i.  107, 180,  203, 206, 

215 
Sa  (Ape),  ii.  292 
Sa  (city),  i.  515 
Sa  (god),  ii.  89 
Sa,  ka  of  Ra,  ii.  300 
Saa,  i.  82;  ii.  296 
Saa-Amenti-Ra,  ii.  298 
Saaba,  i.  469 
Saatet-ta,  i.  326 
Saau-ur,  ii.  298,  339 


Saa-set,  i.  180 
Sa-abu-tckar-khat,  i.  420 
Sa-Akeb,  i.  242 
Sa-Amenti-Ra,  ii.  339 
Sabaoth,  i.  280 
Sabes,  i.  176  ;  ii.  339 
Saft  al-Henna,  i.  498 
Sah,  ii.  249,  306 
Sari  (city),  i.  515 
Sah  (Orion),  i.  41,  83; 

ii.  339 
Sahal,  ii.  52,  56,  57,  58 
Sahel,  ii.  43 
Sah-en-mut-f,  ii.  339 
Sah-heq,  ii.  129 
Sain,  i.  39,  40,  54,  164 
Sahu  of  Maat,  i.  443 
Sahura,  i.  329 
Sais,  i.  30,  31,  92, 95,  99, 

101,  250,  252,  451; 

ii.  20,  22,  275,  357 ; 

festivals  of,  i.  452 ;  of 

the  South,  i.  452 
Sait,  i.  256 
Sa'ites,  i.  96 
Saiut,  ii.  261 
Saiut  (Lycopolis),  i.  98 
Sak,  i.  59,  60 
Sakhabu,  i.  329 
Sakkara,  i.   23,  41,  78, 

125 
Samait,  ii.  339 
Sam-Behutet   (noine),   i. 

100 
Sam-taui-p-khart,  i,  469 
Samti,  i.  177 
San,  i.  516 
Sanchoniatho,  i,  35 
Sandals,  i.  165  ;  ii.  118 ; 

the  divine,  ii.  206 
Sankhonyathan,  i,  35 
Saosis  (Iusaaset),  ii.  190 
Saaxris,  i,  354 
Sa-pa-nemma,  ii.  339 
Saphon,  ii.  249 


Sapi,  i.  30,  452,  464 
Sap-meh  (nome),  i,  99 
Sapi-meht,  i.  452 
Sapi-res  (nome),  i.  99 
Sapt-khennu,  ii.  305 
Saqenaqat,  i.  519  ;  ii.  339 
Sar  (Osiris),  i.  200 
Sar,  temple  of,  ii.  25 
Sarapis,  i.  26  ;  ii.  199 
Sarapis,  daughter  of  Her- 
cules, ii.  200 
Sarbut  al-Khadem,  ii.  290 
Sarei,  ii.  200 
Saresu,  ii.  283 
Sarsarsartou,  i.  280 
Sarset,  ii.  300 
Sasaqet,  ii.  307 
Sasasert,  ii,  306 
Sashsa,  i.  82 
Sata,   a  serpent-god,  ii. 

377 
Satet,   i.    431;     ii.    50, 

55$. 
Sathet,  i.  82 
Sati,  i.  286 ;  ii.  55  ff. 
Sati-arut,  ii.  302 
Sati  (Isis),  ii.  57,  216 
Saturn,  ii.  302,  303 
Satyrs,  ii.  188,  353 
Sau,  ii.  302,  339 
Sau  (Apep),  i.  326 
Saut,  i.  30,  451 
Saut  (Sais),  i.  99 
Sbat-uatitha,  ii.  303 
Scales,  ii.  142 
Scales,  the  Great,  i.  9,  20 
Scandinavia,  i.  64 
Scarab,  i.  355 
Scarabaei,  eaten,  i.  17 
Scarabaeus,  the,  ii.  379 
Scarabaeidae,  ii.  379 
Scarab  of  Hetepet,  i.  85 
Schedia,  ii.  127 
Scorpio,  ii.  188 
Scorpion,  ii.  373,  377 


INDEX 


421 


Scorpions  of  Isis,  i.  487 
Scorpion    stings    Horus, 

i.  488 
Scorpions,  the  Seven  of 

Isis,  ii.  206,  207,  377 
Sea  of  Mertet,  i.  480 
Seat  of  Shu,  ii.  93 
Seb,  i.  34,  82,  85,  86, 

198,  341,  369,  489, 

496,  504;    ii.  25,  34, 

94  ff.,  149,  291,  317 
Seb  and  Nut,  embrace  of, 

ii.  105 
Seb  =  Earth,  ii.  98 
Seb,  erpa  of  the  gods,  i. 

109 
Seb,  soul  of,  ii.  65 
Seba,i.l49,352;ii.  149, 

339 
Seba-ent-Seba,  i.  326 
Sebak  gods,  i.  371 
Sebakksen,  ii.  129 
Sebau,i.324;ii.79,155, 

340 
Sebau     fiends,     i.    410; 

ii.  8 
Sebek,  i.  78,  79,  95,  98, 

114,  303 ;  ii.  303,  340, 

354 
Sebek,  four-fold  character 
?     of,  ii.  355,  356 

Sebek,  son  of  Neith,  i.  32 
Sebekhti,  i.  202 
Sebek  (Mercury),  ii.  303 
Sebek    of    Sapi-Res,    i. 

99 
Sebek  of  the  green  feather, 

i.  455 
Sebek  -  Isis  -  Amen,       i, 

114 
Sebek-Ra,   i.    200,  464; 

ii.  109 
Sebek-Seb,  ii.  357 
Sebek-Temu-Hathor,    ii. 

356 


Seben-hesq-kkaibit,      i. 

211 
Sebennytes,  i.  96 
Sebennytus,  i.  100,  115, 

332 
Sebeq,  ii.  354 
Sebeq-hra,  i.  241 
Seb  erpat  neteru,  ii.  183 
Sebi,  i.  203 
Seb-qenbeti,  i.  211 
Sebshes,  ii.  310 
Sebti,  i.  433 
Sebuit-nebt-uaa  -  khesfet- 

sebau-eru-pert-f,  i.  250 
Sef,  ii.  99 

Sef  (Yesterday),  ii.  361 
Sefekk-aabu,i.422,424, 

425,  430 
Sefer,  i.  59,  60 
Sef  het-aabut,  i.  432 
Sefi  -  per  -  em  -  Hes  -  lira  - 

hapu-tchet-f,  i.  519 
Sefkket-aabut,  i.  431 
Seftit,  i.  248 
Sehepu,  i.  82 
Seher-Tut,  ii.  300 
Sehert/i.  515 
Sehert-baiu-s,  i.  241 
Sehes,  i.  206 
Sehetch-kkatu,  ii.  317 
Sehith,  i.  228 
Sehut,  i.  83 
Sek,  i.  433 
Seker,i.82,506;ii.ll7, 

153,  341 
Seker,    body  of,    i.  218, 

220 
Seker,  Circle  of,  i.  220 
Seker,  god  of  the  seventh 

hour,  ii.  301 
Seker,  Land   of,  i.   216, 

217,  222 
Seker,     Litanies     of,    i. 

434 ;  ii.  259 
Seker  =  Osiris,  ii.  139 


Seker  Osiris  of  Mendes, 

ii.  134 
Seker  Osiris,  the  sixteen 

parts  of,  i.  127 
Seker,  symbols  of,  i.  222 
Seker-Boat,  i.  504,  505  ; 

ii.  154 
Sekhabsenfunen,  i.  182 
Sekhat-Heru,  ii.  26 
Sekhem,  i.  101,132,  410; 

ii.  148 
Sekhem  =  Ainen-Ra,     ii. 

11 
Sekhem,  god,  i.  425 
Sekhem    (city),   i.    149, 

425,  468,  492 
Sekkem-em-ab-f,  ii.  340 
Sekhem  em  pet,  ii.  264 
Sekkem-kra,  i.   326  ;  ii. 

317 
Sekhem    (Letopolis),    ii. 

262 
Sekhem  of  heaven,  ii.  157 
Sekhem  =  Osiris,  ii.  139 
Sekhem,    praises    of,    i. 

339-348 
Sekhem,  son  of  Osiris,  ii. 

25 
Sekhem  taui,  ii.  264 
Sekhem-taui  =  Osiris,  ii. 

139 
Sekhem,  the,  i.  163 
Sekhem,  the  Great,  i.  38, 

39,40 
Sekhem,  the  holy,  i.  446 
Sekhem-ur,  ii.  340 
Sekhemet  (city),  i.  468 
Sekhemet-ren-s-em-abut- 

s,  ii.  341 
Sekhemf,  i.  82 
Sekhemt,  i.  99 
Sekhemu,  i.  38 
Sekhemus,  i.  216 
Sekhen-Ba,   i.    343;   ii. 

320 


422 


INDEX 


Sekhen-ta-en-ur,  i.  82 
Sekhen-tuatui,  i.  250 
Sekhenu,  i.  252,  259 
Sekhen-ur,    i.     177;    ii. 

341 
Sekheper-khati,  ii.  317 
Sekker  -  at,    i.    216  ;    ii. 

341 
Sekher-remu,  i.  178, 216 ; 

ii.  341 
Sekket,  i.  82,  114,  126, 

188,   248,  270,  304, 

365,  366,   431,   432, 

442,443,447,457,463, 

514-518;    ii.  31,  58, 

66,  92,  95,  292,  293, 

341,  362 
Sekket-Aanre,  i.  520 
Sekket-Aar,  ii.  120,  121 
Sekhet-Aarer,    i.    455 ; 

ii.  63 
Sekhet  -  Aarru,     ii.    82, 

120, 121 
Sekhet-Aarru  =  lst  Aat, 

i.  177 
Sekhet-Aarru,  21  pylons 

of,  i.  177 
Sekhet- A  am,  i.  367  ;  ii. 

43,62 
Sekhet-Bast,  i.  514  ff. 
Sekket-Bast-Ra,  i.  518; 

ii.  28,  29,  30 
Sekhet-en-Peru,  i.  212 
Sekket  -  hetep,     i.    164, 

168 ;  ii.  120 
Sekket-hetepet,    i.    103, 

297;  ii.  82 
Sekhet-hetepu,  i.  408 
Sekket-hra-asht-aru,      i, 

176  ;  ii.  341 
Sekhet  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Sekhet-metu,  i.  244 
Sekhet-Nut,  i.  515 
Sekhet  of  Thebes,  i.  211 
Sekket-Ra,  i.  433 


Sekket- Saneh  emu,  ii.  120 
Sekhet- Sasa,  i.  35 
Sekhet-tcher,  i.  110 
Sekhiu,  ii.  340 
Sek-hra,  ii.  341 
Sekhti-hetep,  ii.  341 
Sekhtiu,  i.  244 
Seksek,  ii.  341 
Seksen,  i.  82 
Sektet  Boat,  i.  206,  331, 
332,    335,    336,    337, 
352,  506  ;   ii.  11,  104, 
105,  159 
Selene,  ii.  187 
Self-production,  i.  295 
Selqet,  i.  455 ;  ii.  377 
Semaahut,  ii.  317 
Sem  (god),  ii.  129 
Sem,  priest,  i.  514 
Sem-af,  i.  259 
Sem-Heru,  i.  248 
Sem-Nebt-het,  i.  252 
Sem-shet,  i.  252 
Semamti,  i,  177 
Semetu,  i.  176 
Semi,  i.  198 

Semit-hen-abt-uaa-s,  i. 
220  ' 

Semket  Boat,  i.  110,  323 

Semsem,  i.  252 

Semsu,  name   of  Ra,   i. 
346 

Semt,  ii.  302 

Semtet,  ii.  306 

Semti,  i.  191,  358,  506  ; 
ii.  116, 117 

Semu-heh,  ii.  60,  340 

Semu-taui,  ii.  340 

Senb-Kheperu,  ii,  302 

Senem,    ka    of    Ra,    ii. 
300 

Senemet,  i.  429,  515 

Senenahemthet,  i,  23 

Seni,  i.  452,  463 

Senit,  i.  97,  439 


Senket,  i.  241 
Senk-hra,  i.  346  ;  ii.  317 
Senki,  ii.  317 
Senmet,  i.  433 
Senmut,  i.  433 ;  ii.  51 
Senmut,  Island  of,  ii.  43 
Sennu,  ii.  251 
Senses,  gods  of,  ii.  296, 

297 
Sent,  ii.  129 
Senti-Nefert,  i.  99 
Semi,  ii.  255 
Sep,  i.  401 ;  ii.  261,  291 
Sepa,  i.  494 ;  ii.  340 
Sepes,  ii.  340 
Sephon,  ii.  249 
Sephu-urt,  i.  82 
Sept,  i.  25,  82, 107,166, 

178,  200,  435,  436  ;  ii. 

53,  249 
Sept  (city),  i.  443 
Sept  (god),  i.  100,  446; 

ii.  56,  340 
Sept  (nome  of),  i.  100, 

432,  498 
Sept,  star,  ii.  50,  215 
Sept,  symbol  of,  i.  499 
Sept-hra,  i.  228 
Sept-Hat,  i.  471 
Sept  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Sept,  ka  of  Ra,  ii.  300 
Sept -mast- en -Rerti,    ii, 

340 
Sept-mert-et,  ii.  251 
Sept-metu,  i.  225 
Sept  -  kheri  -  nehait  -  ami  - 

beq,  ii.  340 
Septet,  i.  83  ;  ii.  308 
Septet-uauau,  i.  182 
Septet  -  uauau  -  setet  -  sen- 

Ra,  i.  182 
Septit,  i.  432,  499 
Septu,  i.  521 ;  ii.  291 
Seqebet,  ii.  341 
Seqet-hra,  i.  176 ;  ii.  341 


INDEX 


423 


Ser,  i.  230 
Ser-aa,  ii,  139 
Seraa,  ii.  320 
Serapeum,  i,  523 
Serapeum,   ii.   47,  127 ; 

Egyptian  name   of,  i. 

513 
Serapeum  at  Sakkara,  ii. 

195,  350 
Serapeum  of  Het,  ii.  256 
Serapeum  of  Memphis,  ii. 

199 
Seraphim,  i.  6,7 
Serapis,  ii.  46,  195-201, 

349 
Serat-beqet,  ii.  340 
Seref-ur,  i.  82 
Serekh,  the,  i.  25  ;  illus- 
tration, i.  26 
Serekhi,  i.  419 ;  ii.  340 
Serem-taui,  i.  326 
Seres-hra,  ii.  340 
Serisa,  ii.  312 
Ser-kheru,    i.    419 ;    ii. 

340 
Serpent-god,  ii.  376 
Serpent    of    Sunrise    30 

cubits  long,  i.  24 
Serpent  made  by  Isis,  i. 

361 ;       seven  -  headed, 

i.  267  ;  speaks,  i.  19 ; 

30  cubits  long,  i.  20 
Serq,  i.  198 
Serqet,  i.  110,  198,  232, 

328,  456,  488 ;  ii.  26, 

184,    269,    312,    340, 

362,  377 
Serqet-hetu,  i.  82,  455 
Serqi,  i.  343 ;  ii.  320 
Sert,  ii.  306 
Sesenet-khu,  i.  211 
Seshaa,  i.  86 
Seshemet,  i.  468 
Seshem-Nethert,  i.  343 
Seshesh  (nome)  i.  97 


Sesheshet,  i.  31 
Seshet,  ii.  341 
Sesheta,    i.    422,    424, 

425 ;  ii.  213,  256,  341 
Sesheta    (1st    Circle),  i. 

238 
Sesheta  =  Nut,  ii.  106 
Seshetai,  i.  344;  ii.  320 
Seshetat,  ii.  202 
Seshet-kheru,  ii.  341 
Seshsha,  i.  198 
Sesi,  i.  196 
Sesme,  ii.  306 
Set,  i.  60,  82,  109,  110, 

455,  470,  475,  486  ;  ii. 

10,  25,  62,  63,  85,  92, 

97,106,109,122,123, 

124,  204,  210,  241- 

254,   283,   341,    354, 

356 ;     animal    of,    ii. 

243;     defeat     of,     i. 

477;  figures  of,  ii.  251 ; 

god  of  Mercury,  ii.  303 ; 

god  of  South,  ii.  243 
Set  and  Horus  fight,  i. 

488 
Set  animal,  i,  24 
Set  beings,  i.  160 
Set  beings,  inferior  and 

superior,  i.  84 
Set  festival,  i.  425 
Set-heh,  i.  255 
Set,  Ladder  of,  ii.  242 
Set  (nome),  i.  97 
Set  of  Oxyrynchus,  i.  98 
Set,  the  serpent,  i.  481 
Set,  the  snake,  i.  250 
Set-hra,  i.  192 
Set-kesu,  i.  419 
Set-Nephthys-Anubis,   i. 

114 
Set-Nubti,  ii.  251,  256 
Set-qesu,  ii,  341 
Set-usert-aa,  i.  447 
Setaa,  ii.  119 


Setaa-ur,  ii.  42 
Seta-ta,  i.  184 
Setcha,  i.  59,  60,  61 
Setcheh,  i.  23 
Setchet,  i.  180 
Setchet-gods,  i.  346 
Setcheti,  i.  347 
Seteb  girdle,  i.  331 
Setek,  ii.  341 
Setem,  God   of  hearing, 

ii.  298 
Setem,  ka  of  Ba,  ii.  300 
Seth,  ii.  246,  247 
Setkasetha,  i.  82 
Sethat,  ii.  56 
Sethe,  Prof.,  i.  330,  523 
Sethroites,  i.  96 
Setheniu-tep,  i.  201 
Seththa,  i.  82 
Sethu,  i.  196 
Seti  I.,  i.  290,  348,  364, 

370 ;  ii.  5,  33 
Seti   I.,  sarcophagus   of, 

i.  171, 178 
Seti  II.,  i.  348 
Seti   II.  Menephtah,  ii. 

251 
Setu,  i.  246 
Seven  Gates,  i.  273 
Seven  hawks,  i.  516 
Seven-headed  serpent,  i. 

267 
Seven  Scorpions  of  Isis, 

i.  488 
Seven  Spirits,  the,  i.  494 
Seven  Tablets  of  Creation, 

i.  290 
Sha,  a  mythical  animal, 

i.  60 
Bha-qa-em-Amen,  i.  331 
Shabu,  ii.  341 
Shadow  of  Khepera,i.  310 
Shadow  of  Tern,  ii.  88 
Shai,  i.  343 ;  ii.  317 
Shai,  Luck,  ii.  144 


424 


INDEX 


Skai-qa-eni-Annu,  i.  331 
Skaka-Amen-  Shakanasa, 

er-  katu  -Tem  -  seketck  - 

nef-taui,  ii.  19 
Shakanasa,  ii.  342 
Skamask,  i.  359 
Skapuneterarika,  ii,   19, 

341 
Sharpe,  i.  204 
Skareskarekket,    ii.    19, 

344 
Skareskareskapuneterari- 

ka,  ii.  341 
Skarskatkakatka,  ii.  21, 

342 
Skaskertet,  i.  483 
Skas-ketep,  i.  97 ;  ii.  148 
Skat  am  Tuat,  i.  174 
Skat  en  Sebau,  i.  175 
Ske-en-Sasa,  i.  47 
Skef-beti,  ii.  293 
Skefit,  ii.  342 
Skeft-hat,  ii.  51 
Skekbui  (S.  wind),  ii.  296 
Skema,  ii.  322 
Skemat-kku,  i.  244 
Skemertki,  i.  246 
Skemsu     Heru,    i.    84, 

158 
Skemti,  i.  194,  347 
Skenat-pet-utkeset-neter, 

ii.  342 
Skeneset,  ii.  374 
Ske-neter,  i.  481 
Skenit,  ii.  60 
Skent,  ii.  130 
Skentket,  ii.  25 
Skentkit,  ii.  184,  342 
Skent  tree,  i.  468 
Skentu,  ii.  35 
Ske-niu-aka,  i.  481 
Skenuti,  ii.  288 
Skep,  i.  492 
Skepes,  i.  234 
Skepet,  ii.  310 


Skepi,  i.   191,  343;    ii. 

320 
Skeps,  ii.  291 
Skeps,    ka    of     Ea,    ii. 

300 
Skeps  =  Tkotk,  i.  402 
Skepu,  i.  250 
Skeput,  ii.  359 
Skerem,  ii.  342 
Ske-Sasa,  i,  35 
Skesat-inaket-neb-s,    i. 

208 
Skesemu,  i.  38,  50 
Skes-en-mek,  i.  492 
Skesera,  i.  246 
Skeskemu,  ii.  34 
Skeskkentet,  i.  83,  514 
Skes-kkentet,  ii.  342 
Skesmu,  i.  83 ;  ii.  306 
Skesskes,  i.  196 
Skesu-Heru,  i.  158 
Sket,  i.  98 
Sketa,  i.  326 ;  ii.  297 
Sketa-ab,  i.  189 
Sketa-kra,  ii.  342 
Sketa-sketa- Ameni,  name 

of  Ea,  i.  345 
Sketa,  tke  Tortoise-god, 

ii.  376 
Sketa-kra,  i.  343 
Sketait,  i.  445 
Sketat-besu,  i.  200 
Sketat  (goddess),  i.  446 
Sketat  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Sketati,  i.  342 
Sketau,  i.  200 
Sketennu,  i.  470 
Sketenu,  i.  433 
Ske-Tesker,  i.  433 
Sketet,  ii.  357 
Sket-f-met-f,  ii.  322 
Sketku,  ii.  310 
Sket-kkeru,  i.  419 
Sketu,  i.  250,  252,  254 
Skibba,  i.  16 


Skiin'on   ben-Lakisk, 
276 

Skiskanim,  i.  7 

Skoulder  of  Osiris,  i.  468 

Skoulders  and  arms  r: 
Set,  i.  110 

Skrew  mouse,  ii.  369 

Sku,  i.  58,  82,  130,  260, 
305,  310,  340,  496, 
502;  ii.  1,87-94,  291, 
292,  302,  317,  342; 
birds  of,  i.  168  ;  kouse 
of,  ii.  93  ;  origin  of, 
i,  116 ;  palace  of,  ii. 
93 ;  pillars  of,  i.  332, 
353,  467;  ii.  107; 
seat  of,  ii.  93  ;  soul  of, 
ii.  65 

Sku  =  Air,  ii.  98 

Sku  and  Tefnut,  origin 
of,  i.  296,  297 

Sku-Aten,  ii.  71 

Sku-Kknemu-Ea,       357 

Sigkt,  god  of,  ii.  298 

Siket,  ii.  307 

Silsila,  ii.  356 

Silurus  fisk,  ii.  382 

Simon,  Saint,  i.  280 

Sinai,  ii.  290 

Sinope,  ii.  197,  198,  199 

Sipkirepsnikkieu,  i,  281 

Sisesme,  ii.  306 

Sisro,  ii.  306 

Sistrum,  tke,  i.  421 

Sit,  ii.  304 

Skull  =  goose,  i.  109 

Sky,  four  pillars  of,  i.  157 

Sky  Motker,  ii.  106 

Sky,  of  day  and  nigkt,  i. 
156 

Slatin  Paska,  quoted  i.  17 

Sma,  i.  110,  453 

Sma,  a  king,  i.  31 

Sma-Bekutet,  ii.  31,  35 

Sma-ta,  i.  347 


INDEX 


425 


Sma-ur,  i.  82 

Smai,  ii.  247 

Smaiu,  ii.  247 

Smam,  ii,  340 

Sniamti,  ii.  340 

Smaru-ur,  i.  504 ;  ii.  95 

Smat,  ii.  306 

Smen,  357 

Smen-Maat,  i.  513 

Srnermut,  i.  468 

Smentet,  i.  82 

Smetti,  ii.  340 

Smetu,  ii.  340 

Smour,  i.  281 

Smy,  ii.  246 

Snake,  i.  16 

Snake-god,  ii.  36 

Soane,  Sir  John,  i.  178 

Socharis,  ii.  117 

Sokkabrikher,  i.  281 

Soles  of  the  feet  =  Maati 
boat,  i.  110 

Solomon  of  Al-Basra,  i.  6 

Solon,  i.  332 

Sons  of  God,  i.  32 

Sosibius,  ii.  199 
Soteles,  ii.  199 

Sothis,  i.  58,  435,  436, 
488,  514,  517,  ii.  110, 
249 
Sothis,  ii.  308 
Soubaibai  Appaap,  i.  280 
Souchos,  ii.  354 
Soul,  a  name  of  Ra,  i. 

348 
Souls  of  Annu,  ii.  86, 

106 
Soul  of  Ra,  ii.  64 
Soul  of  Seb,  ii.  95 
Soul  of  Shu,  ii.  65 
Soul  One,  i.  342 
Soul  (gods),  i.  107 
Soul,  the  Hidden,  ii.  116 
Souls  of  East,  i.  351 
Souls  of  the  Tuat,  i.  208 


Souoni,  i,  281 
Souphen,  i.  281 
Southern  Wall,  i.  101 
Space,  primeval,  i.  288 
Spear    of    Khent  -  maati 

described,  i.  85 
Speos  Artemidos,  i.  432, 

517 
Sphinx,  i.  471,  472 ;  ii. 

69 
Sphinx  at  G-izeh,  i.  62 
Sphinx,  hawk-headed,  i. 

194 
Sphinx,  the,  ii.  361  ff. 
Sphinx-god,  i.  348 
Sphinxes,  i.  222 
Spirits    of    Horus,    the 

four,  ii.  121 
Spirits  of  Pe,  ii.  106 
Spirit    of   the    Nile,    i. 

10 
Spirits,  the  4,601,200,  i. 

164 ;  ii.  116 
Spirits,  universal,  i,  9  ff. 
Sptkhne,  ii.  305 
Square  of  Rhea,  ii.  253 
Sro,  ii.  306 
Stabl  al-Antar,  i.  517 
Staff  of  Hathor,  i.  436 
Staircase,  the  god  on,  i. 

191 
Standards    of    boats,    i. 

22 
Star  gods,  ii.  312 
Star-bearers,  i.  200 
Star-room,  i.  331 
Steering  pole,  i.  109 
Stepiu,  i.  198 
Stele  of  Canopus,  i.  448 
Steps,   the    god    on,  ii. 

117 
Story  of  the  Shipwreck, 

i.  20 
Strabo,   i.    96,   444;  ii. 

347,    350,    351,    352, 


353,355,  370;  quoted, 
i.  62 
Strassmaier,  Dr.,  ii.  316 
Stream  of  Osiris,  i.  212, 

214 
Succoth,  i.  99 
Sudan,  i.  22,  145 
Sudan,  the  Eastern,  i.  14, 

17 
Sudani  men,  i.  13 
Suez  Canal,  i.  484 
Sukati,  ii.  21,  339 
Sulla,  ii.  217 
Sumer,  i.  290 
Summer  Solstice,  ii.  264 
Sun,  fountain  of,  i.  331 
Sun-Egg,  ii.  95 
Sunnu,  ii.  51 
Sunrise,  Mountain  of,  i. 

79,  107,  156  ;  ii.  351, 

352,  356 
Sunset,   Mountain   of  i. 

351,  352 
Sunth,  i.  82 
Sut,  ii.  339 
Sutekh,  ii.  250,  278 
Sutekh     gods,    the,     ii. 

283 
Suten-henen,  i.  353,  365; 

ii.  58,  93,  148,  155 
Suten-taui,  i.  511 
Suti,  i.  497,  504 ;  ii.  26, 

241-254 
Swallow,  the,  ii.  373 
Sycamore,  ii.  107 
Sycamore  tree  of  Hathor 

and  Nut,  ii.  103 
Syene,  ii.  51,  365 
Syria,  i.  276 ;  ii.  12,  22, 

83  ;  god  of,  i.  198 
Syrian  influence  on  Egyp- 
tian religion,  i.  334 
Syrians,  ii.  23 
Syrians,  their  system  ol 

angels,  i.  6  ff. 


426 


INDEX 


Ta,  i.  241 

Ta-ahet,  ii,  22 
Ta-apt,  ii.  29 
Taat,  i.  497 
Ta-at-Nehepet,  ii.  213 
Ta-en-tarert,  i.  97 
Ta   ftu   Meskhenu    amu 

Abtu,  ii.  184 
Ta-her-sta-nef,  ii.  153 
Ta-hetchet,  ii.  261 
Ta-het-pa-Aten,  i.  513 
Tait,  i.  83,  432 ;  ii.  343 
Taiti,  ii.  343 
Ta-kehset,  ii.  255 
Ta-kens,  i.  401,  477 ;  ii. 

51 
Ta-kenset,  ii.  17 
Ta-kensetet,  i.  519 
Ta-khent,  ii.  133 
Ta-khent  (nome),  i.  96 
Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers, 

i.  19 
Talmis,  i.  401 
Tamai  al-Amdid,  ii.  64 
Tamarisk  tree,  ii.  189 
Ta-mes-tchetta,    i.    437; 

ii.  26 
Tamt,  i.  339 
Ta-neserser,  i.  192 
Ta-neter,  ii.  289 
Tanis,  i.  100,  473,  474, 

482,  484 
Tanites,  i.  96 
Tape,  ii.  3 
Tar,  i.  520 
Tarabil,  a  name  given  to 

Pyramids,  i.  14 
Ta-ret,  i.  419 ;  ii.  343 
Tarshishim,  i.  7 
Tartarus,  ii.  100 
Ta-sent,  ii.  65 
Ta-sent-nefert,  i.  431,468 
Ta-she  (Fayyum),  i.  98 
Ta-Shetet,  ii.  357 
Taste,  god  of,  ii.  299 


Tatau,  ii.  121  ff. 
Ta-tchesert,  i.  149,  410 
Ta-tchesertet,  i.  507  ;  ii. 

154,  155,  156 
Tatet,  i.  83,  432,  454 
Ta-thenen,  i.  339,  347 ; 

(serpent),  i.  230 ;   the 

Four  forms  of,  i.  238 
Ta-thunen,  i.  508 
Ta-thunenet,  i,  508 
Tattam,  i.  66 
Tattu,  i.  103,  104,  410, 

425 
Tattu  (Mendes),  ii.  157 
Tatuba,  i.  208,  210 
Ta-tunen,  i.  89, 131, 132, 

133,351,508;  ii.  343 
Tauith,  ii.  90 
Ta-ur,  i.  401 
Ta-urt,  ii.  30,  193,  269, 

285,  359 
Ta'ut,  ii.  289 
Tav0e,  i,  289 
Tawfan,  ii.  247 
Tchabu,  ii.  45 
Tchafi,  ii.  299 
Tchalu,  i.  100 
Tchapuna,  ii.  281 
Tchar,  i.  482,  484,  515 
Tchart,  i.  492 
Tcharu,  ii.  69,  70 
Tcha-Tuat,  i.  242 
Tchefa,    ka    of   Ea,    ii. 

300 
Tchefau,  ii.  216 
Tchefet,  ii.  62 
Tcheft  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Tcheftchef,  name  of  Ea, 

i.  344 
Tehehes,  ii.  344 
Tchemtch-hat,  ii.  317 
Tchen,  ii.  263 
Tchent,  ii.  25,  83 
Tchenteru,  i.  83 
Tchenti,  i.  347 


Tcheqfi,  i.  99  ;  triad  of, 

i.  113 
Tcher-khu,  i.  241 
Tchert  (city),  ii.  27 
Tchertet,  ii.  24 
Tcherutet,  i.  433 
Tcheruu,  ii.  344 
Tchesef,  i.  177 
Tcheser  (king),  ii.  52,  53, 

54 
Tcheserit,  i.  196 
Tcheser-shetat,    ii.   301, 

302 
Tchesert,  i.  168  ;  ii.  344 
Tcheser-tep,  i.  23,  419 ; 

ii.  344,  363 
Tcheser-tep-f,  i.  49, 138; 

ii.  34 
Tchenttchenter,  i.  83 
Tchestcheset,  ii.  22 
Tchet-s,  i.  252 
Tchetbi,  i.  184 
Tchetemet,  i.  479 
Tchetut,  ii.  213 
Tears   of    Khepera,    the 

origin  of  men,  i.  312 
Teb,  i.  96 
f  eb,  city  of,  ii.  206 
Teb-her-kehaat,  i.  176 
Teb-hra-keha-at,  ii.  344 
Teba,  i.  83 
Teba,  i.  244 
Tebat,  i.  241 
f  ebati,  i.  343  ;  ii.  317 
Tebat-neteru-s,  i.  238 
Tebt  (Tanis)  i.  473 
Tebut,  i.  97 
Teeth  =  Souls  of  Annu, 

i.  109 
Tefen,  i.  83,  487 ;  ii.  92, 

206,  207 
Tefer-Tem,  i.  514 
Tefnet,  i.  115 ;  ii.  92 
Tefnut,  i.  58,  83,  305, 

310,  341,  463,  515; 


INDEX 


427 


ii.  1,  66,  87-94,  317, 

343 
Tefnut,  Aat  of,  ii.  93 
Tefnut,  House  of,  ii.  93 
Tefnut,  origin  of,  i.  116 
Tefnut  -  Nebuut  -  Sekhet  - 

Net,  ii.  357 
Tefnut-Seb-Nut,  i.  240 
Tehut  (nome),  i.  100 
Tehuti,   i.   83,  113 ;  ii. 

26,  289,  302,  343 
Tehuti,  derivation  of,  i. 

402 
Tehuti-Hapi,  ii.  343 
Tehuti -khenti-Tuat,    i. 

226 
Teka,  i.  437 
Tekaharesapusaremkaka- 

remet,  i.  519 
Teka-hra,  i.  186 
Tekem,  ii.  343 
Tekemi,  i.  186 
Teken-en-Ka,  ii.  322 
Tekh,  i.  516 
Tekh-heb,  ii.  292 
Tekhi,  ii.  292 
Tekhni,  i.  370 
Teleute,  ii.  187,  256 
Tell    al  -  Maskhutah,     i. 

353 
Tell   el-'Amarna,  ii.  23, 

72 
Tell  el-Kebir,  i.  353 
Telmes,  ii.  288 
Tern,  i.  33,  46,  83,  92, 

180,   182,   184,  203, 

330;  ii.  1,  25,  34,  66, 

87,  98,  115,  210,  244, 

289,  317 
Tern,  Eye  of,  i.  305 
Tern,  or  Teniu,  i.  349  ff. 
Tern  =  Osiris,  ii.  139 
Tern  ka  khat   paut  aat, 

ii.  183 
Tem-Asar,  i.  354 


Tern-Harmachis,  i.  352 
Tem-Heru-khuti,  i.  338, 

352*,  354 
Tern  Horus,  i.  351 
Tem-Iusaaset-Nefer-Tem , 

i.  450 
Tem-Khepera,  i.  332 
Teni-Khepera-Shu,  i.  238 
Tem-kheprer,  i,  83 
Tem-Ka,  i.  92,  109 
Tem-sep,  i.  419  ;  ii.  343 
Tem-Thoth,  i.  412 
Temau,  i.  246 
Temretut,  i.  493 
Temt,  ii.  7 
Temt,  counterpart  of  Tern, 

i.  446 
Temt  (Hathor),  i.  431 
Temt-hatu,  i.  343 
Terutemtch,  ii.  317 
f  emtet,  i.  241 
Temtith,  i.  232 
Temtu,  i.  244 
Temu,  i.  88,  107,  254, 

340,  471,  489;  ii.  4, 

8,  18,  157,  343 
Temu  =  Bull    of    his 

mother,  i.  363 
Temu  -  H  eru  -  khuti  -  Khe- 

pera,  i.  353 
Temu  of  Succoth,  i.  99 
Temu-Heru-khuti,  i.  417 
Temu-Khepera,  ii.  11 
Ten  (king),  i.  506 
fen  (nome),  i.  31,  97 
Tena,  ii.  344 
Tena  basket,  ii.  5 
Tena  Festival,  ii.  128 
Tenait,  ii.  343 
Tenanu,  i.  84 
Tenemit,  ii.  343 
Tenen,  i.  508 
Teni,  i.  232 
Tenith,  i.  232 
Tenpu,  ii.  344 


Tent,  i.  200 
Tent-baiu,  i.  212,  521 
Tenten,  i.  83 
Tentit-uhes-qet  -  khat-ab, 

i.  246 
Tentyrites,  i.  96 
Tep,  i.  88,  454 ;  ii.  56, 

117 
Tep-ahet,  i.  98,  432,  433 
Tepa-kenmut,  ii.  304 
Tepa-khentet,  ii.  305 
Tepa-semt,  ii.  306 
Tepan,  i.  222 
Tepeh-tchat,  i.  513 
Tephet-shetat,  i.  230 
Tepi,  i.  194,  242 
f  ep-nef,  i.  515 
Tepthera,  i.  246 
Tep-tu-f,  ii.  263 
Tepu,  i.  211,  410 
Tepui,  i.  252 
Ter,  i.  224 
Termes,  ii.  288 
Terrifier,  the   Great,  ii. 

119 
Tes-aha-Ta-thenen,     i. 
'  240 ' 
Tes  -  am  -  mit  -  em-sheta-  f, 

i.  242 
Tes-ermen-ta,  i.  241 
f  esert-ant,  i.  244 
Tesert-baiu,  i.  203 
Tesher,  ii.  344 
Tesher-maati,  ii.  129 
Tesher-maati  -  ammi-het- 

Anes,  i.  494 
Teshtesh,  ii.  343 
Tes-khaibit-tuatiu,      i. 
'  241 

Tes-khem-baiu,  i.  240 
Tes-khu,  i.  241,  259 
Testes,  Lake  of,  i.  335, 

339 
Tes-Ra-kheiti-f,  i.  241 
Tes-sekkem-aru,  i.  241 


428 


INDEX 


Tes-sept-nestu,  i,  241 
Tes  -  sheta  -  em  -  thehen- 

neteru,  i.  240 
Tes-sma-kekui,  i,  241 
Tet  (Edfu),  i.  478 
f  et,  ka  of  Ea,  ii.  330 
Tet  =  Osiris,  ii,  139 
Tet,  pillar  of,  ii,  131 
Tet,  the,  ii.  129 
Tet,  the  double,  i.  410 
Teta,  i.  22,  32,  33,  37 
Tetet,    daughter   of  Ea, 

i.  432 
Tethys,  ii.  217 
Tetteta,  i,  524 
Tettu,  ii,  121  ff. 
Tettu  (Mendes),  ii.  116 
Thales,  i,  332 
Thanasa,  ii.  344 
Thanasa-Thanasa,  ii.  21 
Thapu-Arenuta,  ii.  283 
Tharnakhakhan,  i.  280 
That  (Isis),  ii.  213 
Thebes,  i.  31,  431,  492, 

523  ;  ii.  3,  12,  21 ;  of 

100  gates,  i.  1 ;  of  the 

Delta,  ii.  31 ;  triad  of, 

i.  114 
Theb-ka  (uome),  i.  100 
Theb-neter,  i.  100 
Thebti,  i.  488 
Thehennu,  ii.  25 
Theket,  i.  99 
Thekshare  -  Anien  -  Eere- 

thi,  ii.  20 
Themaru,  i.  259 
Themath,  i.  248 
Themat-hert,  ii.  304 
Themat-khent,  ii.  305 
Themehu,  i.  304 
Themes  -  en  -  khentet,    ii, 

05 
Then-aru,  i.  345 ;  ii.  320 
Thenemi,  i.  419, 445 ;  ii. 

344 


Thenen,  i.  523 
Thenenet,  i.  431 ;  ii.  213 
Thenenet  (Isis),  ii.  216 
Thenit,  i.  97 
Then-neteru,  i.  257 
Thenti,  i.  344 ;  ii.  317 
Theodosius,  ii.  351 
Theogony  of  Heliopolis, 

i.  116 
Therer,  i.  492 
Thernops,  i.  280 
Theropsin,  i.  280 
Thes-Hertu  (nome),  i,  96 
Thes-hrau,  i.  246 
Thest-ur,  ii,  344 
Thesu,  i.  246 
Theta-enen,  ii.  317 
Thet  amulet,  ii.  215 
Thetet,  i.  486  ;  ii.  206, 

207 
Thethu,  i.  23 
Thi,  Queen,  ii.  69,  70 
Thigh  in  heaven,  i.  35 
Thigh  of  Set,  ii.  250 
Thigh,  the,  ii.  249 
Thighs  =  Nit    and    Ser- 

qet,  i.  110 
Thinites,  i.  96 
This,  i.  431 
Thmoui,  ii.  66 
Thmuis,  ii.  22,  51,  64, 

354 
Thobarrabau,  i.  280 
Thomas,  St.,  i.  280 
Thompson,  Mr.  E.  Camp- 
bell, i.   359;  ii.  282, 
316 
Thosolk,  ii.  308 
Thoth,  i.  9,  20,  34,  36, 
37,  95,  98,  100,  113, 
190,  196,  324,  336, 
369,    400    ff.,   421, 
427,  477,  482,  516; 
ii.  33,  85,  125,  129, 
140,   156,  204,  210, 


211,  244;  angels  of, 
ii.  119 ;  as  recording- 
angel,  i.  408  ;  Books 
of,  i.  414,  415  ;  in  the 
judgment,  ii.  145  ;  on 
his  staircase,  i.  211 ; 
the  intelligence  of  God, 
i.  150 

Thoth  and  Osiris,  i.  410 

Thoth  Horus,  i.  413 

Thoth  Trismegistos,  i. 
401 

Thothmes  I.,  ii.  285 

Thothmes  III.,  i.  142; 
ii.  23,  278 

Thothmes  IV.,  i.  471, 
472 ;  ii.  69 

Thrissa  fish,  ii.  382 

Throne  of  iron,  i.  58 

Thrones  (angels),  i.  6 

Thuau,  ii.  69 

Thueris,  ii.  193 

Thuket,  i.  353 

Thunder,  i.  414 

Thuthu,  wife  of  Ani,  ii. 
143 

Tiamat,  i.  18,  277-279, 
288,  291;  ii.  314; 
caught  in  a  net,  i.  407 

Tiele,  Prof.,  i.  136,  137, 
138 

Tigris,  i.  277 

Tim,  ii.  289 

Time,  primeval,  i.  288 

Timotheus,  ii.  217 ;  the 
Interpreter,  ii.  199 

Tithorea,  ii.  218,  219 

To-day,  ii.  99,  123 

Tom,  ii.  304 

Tombs  of  the  Kings,  i. 
178 

Tongue  =  steering  pole, 
i.  109 

Toothache,  incantation 
against,  i.  360 


INDEX 


429 


Topheth,  i.  273 
Tortoise,  i,  254 ;  ii.  376 
Totems,  i.  27 
Toua,  i.  280 
Touch,  god  of,  ii.  296 
Tpebiou,  ii.  307 
Tpekhonti,  ii.  305 
Tpekhu,  ii.  307 
Tree  gods,  i.  116 
Trees,  talking,  i.  19 
Tree-trunk  of  Osiris,  ii. 

124,  125 
Tree     worship     in     the 

Sudan,  i.  17 
Triad,  the,  i.  114  ff. 
Triangle,  the,  ii.  252 
Tribal  ancestors,  i.  27,  28 
Trocho'ides,  i.  452 
Trolls,  i.  12 
Tua-Heru,  i.  248,  254 
Tua-khu,  i.  248 
Tuamu,  ii.  316 
Tuamutef,    i.    83,    198, 

456;  ii.  129,  145,  344 
Tuamutef  =  East,  i.  158 
Tuamutef,  son  of  Horus, 

i.  491,  492 
Tua-mut-f,  ii.  184 
Tuat,  i.  158,  510,  511 ; 

ii.  14,  51,  77,  97,  105, 

131 ;    divisions    of,   i. 

176  ff. ;  paut  of,  i.  91 
Tuat,  the  Book  of  that 

which  is  in,  i.  174  ff. 
Tuat,   the,    described,  i. 
'  171  ff. 

Tuatet-niaket-neb-s,    i. 
'  242 

Tuati,  i.  259  ;  ii.  317 
Tuati,  a  god,  i.  343 
Tuau  =  To-day,    ii.    99, 

361 
Tu-f  (nome),  i.  98 
Tu-menkh-rerek,  ii.  344i 
Tun-abui,  ii.  322 


Tunep,  ii.  23 
Tun-pehti,  i.  176  ;  ii.  344 
Tuphium,  ii.  357 
Tu-qa-aat,  i.  178 
Tu-qat,  i.  97 
Turquoise,  sycamores  of, 

ii.  107 
Turrupa,  i.  326 
Turtle,  i.  24 ;  ii.  376 
Tushratta,  ii.  279 
Tut-ankh-Amen,  ii.  83, 

84 
Tutu,  i.  326,  463,  464 
Tutu-f,  i.  419 ;  ii.  343 
Tu-ui,  Hathor  of,  i.  434 
Twin-gods,  i.  148 
Tybi,  ii.  63 

Tylor,  Prof.  E.  B.,  i.  29 
Typho,  ii.  187, 189,  192, 

200 
Typhon,  i.  422;   ii.  92, 

124,  125,  354,  361; 

names  of,  ii.  246 
Tzetzes,  ii.  96 


Ua,  ii.  327 

Ua-ab,  i.  180 

Uaau,  i.  176;  ii.  327 

Uab  (nome),  i.  98 

Uafet,  i.  513 

Uahu,  i.  80 

Uai,  i.  326 

Uaipu,  ii.  327 

Uak  festival,  ii.  149 

Uakh,  i.  168 

Uamemti,   i.    198,   419; 

ii.  327 
Uart,  ii.  121 
Uart-neter-semsu,  ii.  327 
Uas  (nome),  i.  31 
Ua  seqeb  em  HetBenben, 

ii.  183 
Uash,  ii.  25 
Uash-ba,  i.  344 


Uash-neter,  ii.  310 
Uasri,  ii.  113 
Uast,  i.  492 ;  523 
Uast,  city,  i.  97 
Uast  (nome),  i.  97 
Uatchet,  i.  24,  92,  93, 

100,   329,    431,  432, 

441  ff.,  479,  483  ;  ii. 

8,  48,  71,  104,  289 
Uatchet  (nome),  i.  97 
Uatchet-Isis,  i.  440 
Uatchit,  i.  24;  ii.  292, 

327 
Uatchit  (Isis)  ii.  213 
Uatch,    ka    of    Ka,    ii. 

300 
Uatch-Maati,  ii.  327 
Uatch-nes,  i.  419 
Uatch-Nesert,  ii.  327 
Uatch-ura,  ii.  47  ;  Lake 

of,  ii.  60 
Uatchti  goddesses,  ii.  8, 

11 
Uauaa,  i.  161 
Uauat,  i.  477 
Uben,  i.  345 ;  ii.  320 
Uben-An,  i.  345 
Ubes-hra-per-em-khet- 

khet,  i.  494;  ii.  327 
Ufa,  i.  23 
Ui,  ii.  327 
Un  (god),  ii.  114  ;  nome 

of,  i.  98,  426 
Un-hat,  ii.  328 
Un-nefer,   i.    149,   427, 

475;  ii.  114, 138, 145; 

hymn  to,  i.  153 
Un-nefer-Heru-khuti, 

502 ;  ii.  154 
Un-nefer  (Osiris),  i.  490 
Un-nefer,  son  of  Nut,  ii. 

154 
Unas,  i.  22,  23,  32,-33 ; 

ii.  8,  32,  33,  34,~43  ; 

hunts,  kills,  and  eats 


430 


INDEX 


gods,  i.  34  ff,  ;  on  the 

Ladder,  ii.  242 
Underworld,  the,  ii.  105, 

170  ff. ;  Paut  of,  i.  91 
Unen-nefer,  ii.  328 
Unnu,    i.    405;   ii.   107 

251;   city  of,  i.   426; 

the  Hare-god,  ii.  371 
Unnu-Meht,  i.  88 
Unnu-Eesu,  i.  88 
Unnut,  ii.  327 ;  goddess, 

ii.  371 ;  city,  ii.  371  ; 

counterpart  of  Thoth, 

i.  426 
Unnut-netchtet,  i.  200 
Unpepet  -  ent  -  Het  -  Heru, 

ii.  327 
Unt,  i.  161 
Unt  (Xth  Aat),  i.  178 
Unti,  ii.  154,  328 
Unti  (Apep),  i.  326 
Unti  (god),  ii.  114 
Unti,  star-god,  i.  198 
Uraeus,  early  worship  of, 

i.  24 
Ur-at,  ii.  328 
Ur-gu-la,  ii.  316 
Ur-hekau,  ii.  328 
Ur-heket,  ii.  292 
Ur-mah,  ii.  316 
Ur-maat,  ii.  328 
Ur-maat-s,  ii,  328 
Ur-inaau,  ii,  73 
Ur-mertu-s-tesker-  sheni, 

ii.  328 
Ur-mer,  ii.  351 
Ur-nes,  i.  208 
Ur-pehui,  ii.  328 
Ur-sheps-f,  i.  80  ;  ii.  197 
Ur-sun,  i.  458 
Ur-tenten,  i.  480 
Ur-Uatchti,  i.  483 
Ureret  Crown,  ii.  154 
Urit,  i.  401 
Urshiu,  ii.  320 


Urshiu,  a  god,  i.  347 
Urshiu,  the  Watchers,  i. 

347 
Urshu  of  Pe,  i.  84 
Urshu  of  Nekhen,  i.  84 
Urt,  i.  80, 101,  230,  456 
Urt-ab,  ii.  139 
Urt-Apset,  i.  432 
Urt-hekau,  i.   80,   456; 

ii.  Ill,  256,  362 
Urt-sekhemus,  i.  216 
Urti  goddesses,  ii.  116 
Us,  a  nome,  i.  31 
Us-ar  (Osiris),  ii.  113 
Usekk-hra,  ii.  328 
Usekh-nemt,  ii.  328 
Usekht-Maati,  ii.  128 
Usekht-neinniat,  i.  419 
User,  ii.  113 
User-ab,  ii.  328 
User-ba,  ii.  328 
Userkaf,  i.  329,  330 
Usert,  i.  80 ;  ii.  85,  328 
Usert  (Isis),  ii.  213,  216 
Usert-heqet,  i.  432 
Usertsen  I.,  i.  330 
Usit,  i.  248 
Usoos,  ii.  281 
Usr-Ea,  ii.  113 
Usr,  ka  of  Ea,  ii.  300 
Ustha,  ii.  305 
Utcha-ba-f,  i.  101 
Utcha-re,  ii.  328 
Utchat  of  Thoth,  i.  413  ; 

of  Ea,  i.  413 
Utchat-Heru,  the  official, 

i.  458 
Utchat,  seat  of,  ii.  155 
Utchat  -  sekhet  -  ur  t-hent- 

neteru,  i.  519 
Utchatet,  i.  436 
Utchati,  i.  160 
Utch-re,  ii.  263 
Utennu,  ii.  268 
Utemm  beings,  i.  160 


Utennu  gods,  i.  83,  84 
Utet-heh,  ii.  60,  328 
Uteti,  i.'  346 
Utet-tef-f,  ii.  322 
Uthes,  i.  80 
Utu,  i.  246 
Utu-rekhit,  i.  145,  419 ; 

ii.  328 
Uu,  ii.  291 


Veda,  i.  135 

Venus,   i.    224;    ii.    97, 

100,  218,  253,  303 
Vespasian,  ii,  217 
Vesta,  ii.  253 
Vine  of  heaven,  i.  165 
Vine  speaks,  i.  19 
Virey,  quoted,  ii.  278 
Virgin  Mary  and  Isis,  ii. 

220,  221 
Vulcan,  i.  501 
Vulture,  early  worship  of, 

i.  24 
Vulture,  the,  ii.  372 


Wadi  er-Eababi,  i.  373 
Wadi  Hammamat,  i.  485 
Wadi  Sabu'a,  ii.  22 
Wall  of  Hell,  i.  171 
Walls,  a  name  of  Mem- 
phis, i.  514 
Wasps  (evil  spirits),  i.  15 
Watchers     of     Pe     and 

Nekhen,  i.  161 
Water,  i.  288 
Water  gods,  i.  116 
Weighing  of  words,  i.  36 
West,    horn  of,    i.    205; 
Mountain  of,    i.    179; 
Souls  of,  i.  107 ;  Spirits 
of,  ii.  356 
Westcar  Papyrus,  i.  329 
Wheat  of  Horus,  ii.  118 


INDEX 


431 


White  Crown,  i.  39,  53; 

ii.  8,  26,  130,  151 
White  Nekhen,  i.  439 
White  Wall,  i.  125,514; 

ii.  148 
Wiedemann,  ii.  97,  285 
Wilbour,  Mr.  C,  ii.  52 
Wind-gods,  i.    202;    ii. 

295,  296 
Wine  of  the  gods,  i.  58 
Wings  of  angels,  i.  5 
Winter  Solstice,  ii.  264 
Wolf,  the,  ii.  366 
Women      in      Egyptian 

heaven,  i.  166 
Words  of  power,  i,  13 
Word-soul,  i.  340 


Words,   weighing   of,    i. 

408 
World-body,  ii.  299 
World-Soul,  ii.  299 
Worm   of  Babylonia,  i. 

359 
Worm,  the,  i.  202 
Workshop  of  Ptah,  i.  501 


Xarmarokh,  i.  266 
Xois,  i.  99,  432  ;  ii.  22 

Xoites,  i.  96 


Yahweh,    i.    137,    141, 
278 ;  ii.  74 


Yannai,  i.  276 
Ya'uth,  ii.  289 
Yesterday,  ii.  99,  123 


Zabara,  Mount,  ii.  281 

Zagoure,  i.  280 

Zenei,  i.  281 

Zenodotus,  i.  289 

Zibanitum,  ii.  316 

Zodiac  of  Dendera,  ii. 
312 

Zodiac,  origin  of,  ii.  312- 
314 

Zodiac,  Signs  of,  Egyp- 
tian, ii.  315 

Zorokothora,  i.  280 


PRINTED   Bf    GILBERT   AND    RIV1NG10N,    LTD.,    SI'.    JOIN'S    HOUSE,    CLERKEX  WELL,    LONDON,    E.C. 


BL2441.B927V.2 

The  gods  of  the  Egyptians;  or,  Studies 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00034  3618 


DATE  DUE 

Demco,  Inc.  38-293 

